


Convalescence

by MegaKat



Category: Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon, Bishoujo Senshi Sailor Moon | Pretty Guardian Sailor Moon (TV), Dragon Ball
Genre: Angst, Angst and Fluff and Smut, Angst with a Happy Ending, Declarations Of Love, F/M, Grief/Mourning, Implied/Referenced Suicide, Love, Mating, Mating Bond, Mating Rituals, Suicide Attempt
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2014-08-19
Updated: 2015-02-12
Packaged: 2018-02-13 19:17:01
Rating: Explicit
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 9
Words: 38,788
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2162034
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MegaKat/pseuds/MegaKat
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Sequel to Attrition--go read that FIRST!</p><p>It's Usagi's turn to heal at Vegeta's insistence, and Raditz is the one to help her.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Chapter 1

 

_“Don’t cry, my mate. I’m ok with this. Really, I am.”_

_Pushing everything she had from the crystal into his feverish body, Usagi shook her head and refused to stop trying, but no matter how hard she fought the virus, it continued to reproduce in Vegeta’s system just as fast as she managed to eradicate it. “No,” she choked out. “What kind of mate am I if I can’t save you? I’m an all-powerful goddess of the—“ She was silenced with a blisteringly hot hand over her mouth._

_“_ R’sha _… I don’t think you understand. You **have** saved me. Two hundred years ago, you saved me. Then you saved me again by teaching me how to not be afraid of everything, all the time. You helped me regain my memories. You taught me how to love again. That was far more important than merely saving my life.” Vegeta sighed and tried to focus through the urge to simply close his eyes and let go. He was so hot, and so very, very tired of fighting. “Everyone dies, Usagi,” he rasped out, trailing his hand over her face. “It’s alright to let me go.”_

_“I don’t want to,” she sobbed, laying down beside him, wrapping her arms around his naked, burning hot body. He was so feverish that he wasn’t even sweating anymore, and a voice in the back of her mind was amazed that he was even coherent at this point. “Please don’t die, Vegeta. Please don’t leave me all alone.”_

_“You won’t be alone,” he breathed into her hair. Funny, how he was so at peace with the idea of dying. In a strange reversal of things, it was the dying trying to comfort the living, and not the other way around. “You’ll have our boys and Chibi-Usa. And Kakarot and his family. And Mako. Hell, even the Namek.”_

_“But not you. I want **you** , Vegeta.”_

_“I know,_ r’sha _. I know.” He weakly managed to lift his head enough to kiss her, his chest rattling feebly in a gentle purr to comfort her as his hand barely rose to caress her face. “My love… I think you need to call our children in.”_

_Hearing him say ‘children,’ rather than ‘brats,’ Usagi nodded into his chest and flared her ki. They had all been waiting outside, just in case their mother couldn’t save their father; the boys all had absolute faith that she would be able to, but her daughter had known better and had insisted on them all staying close by._

_Trunks was the first one to enter, and his hands trembled as he knelt at the bedside and clasped his father’s in his own. “Father.”_

_“I know she’s not your blood mother, Trunks… but take care of her… understand me? Look after your siblings as you would your own children.” He raised his hand to wave the rest of them over to join them, and Vegeta couldn’t help but sigh happily at the sight of all of his children and his grandson. “I love you all,” he whispered. “I know I tell your mother that all the time, but I don’t think I’ve said it often to any of you. I love you all, and I’m proud to be your father… and your grandfather, Geta,” he added with a glance to the young man that could pass as his twin._

_He took a deep, rattling breath before continuing, fighting with the last of his air to get his final words out. “Boys… Trunks, Veggie, Geta, Tarble… all of you… you remember the conversation we had last year… don’t you dare forget it… or go back on it… and princess, don’t you dare settle for less than you deserve when you take a mate. You’re as perfect as your mother and should accept nothing less.”_

_“Yes, Daddy,” Chibi-Usa whispered tearfully. They’d all known this was coming; for over a year, Vegeta had gotten weaker and weaker as his Saiyan immune system and Usagi’s crystal had fought off the virus that was shutting down his already weakened organs. After all of the torture he’d sustained and the strain it had put on his body, he would have been dead within a day if he’d been human._

_“I love you all,” he whispered again, his voice growing ever weaker with each word. “Is Kakarot here?”_

_“I’m here, Vegeta,” the taller Saiyan replied solemnly from the doorway; he’d been waiting just outside in silence, not daring to interrupt something as serious as the passing of their king._

_“Watch over my family?” Vegeta relaxed a little when Goku smirked—as if such a thing went without saying—and tipped his head in a silent promise; he’d known that his best friend would do it, but the agreement itself put him further at ease. The king of the Saiyans then turned to his mate. “Usa… I know this will seem like a ridiculous request, but… when you’re ready… find Raditz… promise me… promise me that you’ll be happy,_ r’sha _… like him, that’s all I’ve ever wanted for you.”_

_At any other time, if he hadn’t been fading right there before her eyes, Usagi would have argued with him until she was blue in the face… but no one, not even the Queen of the Stars and the Saiyan race would dare refuse a last request from her king. After a single moment’s thought, she bit down on her lower lip and nodded. She’d do it, if only to give him peace. “I love you, Vegeta…” Usagi tried for a tiny smile and ran her fingers through his hair. “My wild man… we did alright, didn’t we? We had some wonderful times, some amazing years together.”_

_“The best two hundred years a man could hope for,_ r’sha _,” he replied softly, giving her hand a frail squeeze. “And Usa… don’t you dare mourn me for too long… you made me the happiest man in the universe, and I don’t want you to be sad. I’m just sorry that I couldn’t have made even more memories with you. That my passing had to be this way.”_

_Trying to stay strong for her children, who were all crying silently, Usagi merely wiped at her tears and nodded again. “I’m sorry I can’t save you, my love.” His breathing was growing labored, and Usagi could sense that his heart rate was slowing, his lungs beginning to shut down… but he was still fighting. She could feel it through the bond; he was still fighting for her, warring against the virus in his system so that he wouldn’t leave her just yet. “It’s ok,” she choked out. “I love you, Vegeta.” She lay down on the bed beside him and held him tightly. “I love you… I love you…” She whispered into his hair over and over, and as he took his last breath and closed his eyes, Usagi felt a surge of emotion through their mating bond, pure love, devotion, and contentment. Then the bond was suddenly gone, completely vanished, and she kissed him softly, wishing with all her heart that she could join him._

#########################################

_“I’ve got her this time,” Veggie sighed softly, running his fingers through his mother’s hair as he tried to purr comfort to her unconscious form. “You took care of her last month when she tried the cyanide.”_

_“You sure?” Tarble whispered tearfully, wiping at his eyes. “She’s lost a lot of blood, Veg.” When his older brother nodded, he hesitated before leaving to find their sister. “Veg… what if… what if we just helped her? I know she’s immortal, but… there has to be a way to let her die… right?”_

_“Tarble, so help me Dende, if you ever say anything like that again, I’ll shit-kick you so hard you’ll be farting out your mouth and drinking your meals through an enema. You understand me?” Vegeta the third growled out at him._

_“Veggie, I don’t want Mom to die, but… are we being selfish by doing this…? By nursing her back to health every few weeks? If she wants to join Father so badly… shouldn’t we help her? Wouldn’t it be the right thing to do?”_

_Veggie closed his eyes and fought down his raging inner monster at the idea, reminding himself that Tarble rarely disagreed with him and that when he did, it meant he felt very strongly about something. And maybe… just maybe… he was right. But he couldn’t do it. Their mother was the light of their lives when she was happy, and there had to be a way… some way, **any** way, to make her smile again. “We can’t give up, Tar-Tar. It’s been five years. That might seem like a long time to us, but Mom’s been alive for over two thousand years. It’s just a drop in the bucket for her, and she’ll come out of this depression eventually. She has to,” he added softly. “Now go get Usa.”_

#######################################

_Chibi-Usa appeared next to her brothers and her nephew and held up her hands when they all collectively snarled at her in anger._

_“Where have you BEEN!?” Veggie and Trunks both yelled simultaneously. Even Tarble was growling softly and frowning at her in disapproval, and she quickly waved her hands in front of her defensively._

_“I’ve been in Otherworld at the entrance to Snake Way,” she explained quickly. The pink-haired moon princess smirked, looking just like her father when they all immediately shut up and waited for her to continue. “In short, I threatened the fucking shit out of Yemma for two hours straight.”_

_“Papa’s coming home?” Geta whispered hopefully, taking a step towards his aunt._

_“No,” she sighed, “but after Uncle Kaka and Uncle Piccolo appeared and started threatening Yemma right along with me, I managed to get Mom a day with him.”_

_“That’s **it**!?” Veggie snarled. “Seriously!? After all Mom and Dad and our uncles have done for this shitty little planet, that’s all they got!? One measly fucking day!?”_

_“I was about to tell you the rest when you interrupted ever so rudely,” Usa huffed, rolling her pink eyes at her twin._

_“I wouldn’t interrupt so much if you just got to the fucking point right away, Rabbit,” Veggie snorted. “Stop beating around the bush.”_

_“I swear, let me tell the whole story and just shut your fucking trap, Vegeta. Anyways… before I was so rudely interrupted… we got Mom and Dad a day. Then Baba popped in and laid the sickest fucking guilt trip on Yemma that I have ever witnessed in all of my existence. I honestly thought the old man was going to fucking cry! So, getting to the point, they have three days. Well, a little longer than that, to be specific. I’m going to heal up Mom, and Dad will show up as soon as I’m done. They’ve got until noon on the fourth day.”_

_“Then get the fuck on it, girl!” Veggie commanded, shoving his little sister towards their unconscious mother. “Heal her and wake her up!”_

_“Yes, dear,” Chibi-Usa deadpanned, immediately kneeling on the side of the bed and healing her mother’s wrists up, feeding her some of her own ki to speed the regeneration of blood cells. “Anyone got a senzu for when she wakes?”_

_Tarble handed one over just in time; Usagi was stirring and her daughter had her chewing and swallowing before she was coherent enough to refuse the bean like she had a hundred times before. “Come on, Mom,” he whispered gently, sitting her up. The tears welling up in her eyes, the sheer despair in them and the hopelessness she radiated made Tarble’s lower lip tremble; he’d always been the most sensitive out of all of the boys, and subject to teasing for being a momma’s boy. It was only when he was a teenager that his mother had sensed that he’d inherited her empathic powers and the rest of the boys had finally given him a break._

_He felt his mother’s pain as if it was his own, and Veggie had comforted him more than once in secret, where no one could see him showing affection to his baby brother. “Mom, it’s ok. Smile,” Tarble urged. “Usa’s got a really huge surprise for you. It’ll make you happy again.”_

_The Queen of the Stars merely shook her head and glanced around the room, but her children were smarter than what they were working with and had removed anything with which she could use to hurt herself. “Just let me die,” she breathed._

_“Woman, if you don’t cut that shit out, I’m going right back to King Kai’s to train some more,” a gruff voice huffed from the doorway._

_The demis all grinned and turned their heads just as Usagi looked up in disbelief, her blue eyes widening and impossibly filling with even more tears. “Geta?” She whimpered, her body beginning to tremble in reaction to the sight of him._

_Vegeta immediately crossed the room and embraced his mate tightly, his tail winding around her waist as his strong purr filled the room. “Yeah, moon goddess. Shh… it’s alright, it’s alright… I know, beautiful…” He glanced over his shoulder and gave his children a brief nod. “Brats, if you’d give us a bit…?”_

_“Sure, Father,” Trunks replied with a smile, ushering out his younger siblings quickly before shutting the door to give them some privacy._

_Vegeta silenced her with a brief kiss when he finally drew away and she opened her mouth to speak. “No, r’sha. You need to listen to me, because I have a lot of things to say to you before we’re ok.”_

_“Ok?” She repeated, blinking in surprise, her eyes filled with worry. The way his jaw was clenching spoke of anger… he was mad at her?_

_“I understand your grief, Usagi. You know what I went through when I realized that Bulma was dead… and I’ll never forget what you did for me to ease that grief.” Vegeta sighed and caressed her jawline before continuing. “But you’ve got to stop this. I’m dead and nothing can bring me back. Ah—this was an exception,” he said quickly, pointing to his halo. “I was allowed to keep my body this time when I died, and our daughter and Baba pulled one hell of a guilt trip on Yemma to make him agree to this. I have three days. That’s it. Then I’ll go back to Otherworld, and I won’t be coming back. Don’t get me wrong, either—I don’t want to stay dead, but that’s the way it has to be. It’s the natural order of things.”_

_Usagi merely shook her head and looked away, fresh tears spilling down her face._

_“R’sha… please listen to me. Look at what you’re doing to our children. Tarble can’t take much more of this; he feels your pain as strongly as you felt mine all those years ago. Veg is turning into **me** for gods’ sakes. He’s always been a little pain in the ass, but he shouldn’t be shouldered with all of this responsibility. Our brats are all grown, yes, but they’re also half-Saiyan and they mature slower than humans or Lunarians. They’re all still practically teenagers and shouldn’t have to deal with their mother trying to kill herself every five minutes. It should be you taking care of them.” Vegeta hesitated for a moment, then suddenly tightened his jaw. No, she was his mate, and it would be wrong of him to sugarcoat anything just because he loved her. “I never thought I’d say this to you of all people, but… you’re being a bad mother, Usa. You’re being irresponsible.”_

_He regretted the words the moment she began to sob uncontrollably, and held her to him tightly when she tried to pull away; Vegeta could sense that she was about to teleport out and run away from his words. “I’m not saying this to be cruel, my love. I’m saying it because no one else has the balls to tell you. And you can fix it, Usa. You can stop doing this to yourself and our children and fix it. I did the same thing to Trunks when I was younger… barely still a teenager myself in Saiyan years… and I spent years repairing the damage I’d done once you returned me to Earth. I don’t want that for you, beautiful. Look at me,” he whispered, tipping her chin up and wiping at her tears with his tail. “You’re stronger than this. The strongest person I’ve ever known. And I want you to suck it up, understand me? You’re a goddess,” he added with a little smirk. “And you weep for **no** man. Not even one as downright fucking awesome as myself. You’re also one of the most Saiyan-like females I’ve ever encountered, and no Saiyan woman would dare mourn like this, knowing that her mate was feasting in the Otherworld, revered as such a great warrior that he was allowed to train with the Kais. A Saiyan woman would do as her mate asked her and move on.”_

_“You’re happy, then?” Usagi whispered._

_“As happy as I can be without you by my side, r’sha. And I’m finally at peace. Completely, totally at peace. I’m a whole man again; I’m my old self. I no longer have spells where I can’t speak or where I don’t trust anyone because I’m terrified.”_

_“That’s good,” she replied, managing a tiny smile for him as she helped him wipe away her tears._

_“Now that you’ve stopped blubbering,” Vegeta chuckled, “there’s a little something I’ve really missed during the last five years.”_

_“Oh?” Usagi asked, lifting a questioning eyebrow. Then he shifted slightly and she felt something long and hard pressing against her thigh through his blue spandex. “ **Oooooh**.”_

_“Aaaaand she gets it,” he snickered, dipping his face to lick and nip at her throat. “Have you missed that too, r’sha?” He purred against her soft skin. “Having me inside of you…? Because if you’re feeling up to it, I’d be more than happy to provide you with some relief. Three whole days of it, in fact.”_

_Usagi stopped at that and eyed him seriously. “You didn’t want to spend time with the kids?”_

_“Fuck the brats, woman! I want to get **laid**!” Vegeta kept a straight face for all of about five seconds  when she looked like she was about to haul off and punch him in the dick, then he finally lost it and burst into a loud fit of laughter. “Gods, you’re still **so easy** to fuck with, woman. Of course I want to see the brats… I’m sure I’ll just be interrupting my visits with everyone to haul you off for an hour or two several times a day.”_

_Her grief steadily vanishing just from the scent and feel of him against her, Usagi giggled. “I always loved your sense of humor…” She licked her lips as he began to tug at her clothing, sliding his mouth over every bit of newly exposed skin. “…and your libido. So… there’s no sex in the Otherworld?”_

_“ **No** ,” Vegeta groaned, “and it’s the one thing about it that totally sucks! You’d think they’d reward a warrior with a harem of sorts, but no, it’s just training and meditation!”_

_“No beds full of nervous virgins?” She chortled, pulling the top half of his gi down to expose that rippling, muscular chest that she’d never been able to stop herself from admiring._

_“To hell with virgins, woman. Throw a couple in there for variety, sure. But I would want a bed full of randy, experienced whores. I want a woman that knows what the hell she’s doing,” Vegeta snickered. As if to prove that she was one of those experienced women, Usagi lightly drug her nails down his erection the moment he was exposed and took a flat, male nipple in her mouth, making him groan loudly. “Now that’s what I’m talking about,” Vegeta purred._

_“Oh, so I’m a whore, now?” Usagi asked, feigning seriousness as she pulled back._

_“A whore for me,” Vegeta countered smugly. “Admit it, woman. You **loooove** the cock.”_

_Usagi giggled and shoved him onto his back then, straddling his waist and gasping as he simply tore off her panties and thrust upwards into her. “Alright… got me there,” she moaned softly, undulating her hips slowly against his, her head tipping back in submission as his tail began to feather over her clit. “I’m definitely your little whore, Geta.” She moaned again, much louder when he began to make love to her slowly from below, her hands gripping his hips as she helped ride him._

_“Dear gods, woman,” Vegeta panted, his fingers digging into her lower back as she tightened around him a little. “You need to hurry up and come for me before I—“ Sweat beading on his forehead, he suddenly let go, unable to stop himself from finding rapture so quickly after five years without his mate._

_Thankfully, Usagi came just as he did, and she slumped on top of him in a breathless heap, kissing him passionately. “Want more,” she whimpered, moving her hips again. “Please, Vegeta… please make love to me again,” she begged softly._

_He smirked up at her just before flipping them smoothly so that he was on top, his mouth descending to her neck and her breasts while his softened cock recovered from his explosive orgasm._

####################################

                _Vegeta found Usagi sitting upstairs quietly, absently fingering something black and red as she stared out the window in deep thought. “R’sha?” He blinked in surprise when she immediately blushed and shoved the thing in her hand into her subspace, looking up at him sheepishly through her lashes. “What was that?”_

_“I… I was just thinking about what you said, that’s all… Raditz… he had Turles give it to me just before Arctic landed, right after he said goodbye to me.” Usagi retrieved it from her subspace and hesitantly held it out. “It’s some of his hair… I think he bound it with one of the red armbands he wears.”_

_Vegeta didn’t take it, but he frowned deeply. Despite the fact that he was dead and on a conjugal visit of sorts, he couldn’t keep down a huge wave of jealousy. “It’s a Saiyan pact. That his heart is yours and he’ll wait for you until you’re available to court.” Judging by the sudden look of guilt on her face, he knew what was going through her head. “You gave him one in return, didn’t you?” He growled._

_“I… I didn’t know…” Usagi held her head in her hands and shook it slowly. “Geta, I’m so sorry, I honestly didn’t know—“_

_“It’s alright,” he said quickly, sitting down beside her, purring comfort as he nuzzled the scar of her mark. “I know you didn’t know any better, love.” Despite his jealousy, Vegeta couldn’t help but chuckle a little. “You’re so screwed if and when you ever see him again, woman.”_

_“I am?” She squeaked out nervously._

_“Yup. You gave him all rights to your pussy once you were no longer mated. Heh… it’s pretty funny, you know. I’m technically fucking the hell out of **his** woman until I go back.”_

########################################

“Momma? Momma? MOMMA!”

                “Geta!?”

                Usagi trembled when it was only her youngest son’s face hovering above her, his eyes full of concern and brimming with tears as he felt her pain. “Tarble,” she said with a whoosh of air. “Come here, honey. I’m sorry… I must have been dreaming again.”

                “I know,” he replied shakily as he climbed in beside her and let her hold him tightly, as if he wasn’t over fifty years old, a grown man by even Saiyan standards. “You were yelling for Dad again.”

                “Shh, Tarble. I’m not ever going to be like that again, you understand me? I haven’t tried that shit in what? Five years?” Gods… was it really ten years since Vegeta had died? Five since she’d seen him for a few days, only for him to return to Otherworld? Ah, but it had been a wonderful, love-filled three days. She still missed him; she always would. But he’d been right about her needing to move on.

                “You’ve been calling out to him in your sleep for a week, Mom.”

                Usagi sighed and nodded, running her fingers through Tarble’s hair soothingly. “I think your father is trying to tell me to go… or he’ll kick my ass,” she answered with a little chuckle.

                “He is,” Trunks rumbled from the doorway. “Goku spoke with him earlier today and he wanted to know why in the hell you were still moping around on Earth. He was surprised as hell to hear from Father, you know. Father said he’d been trying to talk to you in your dreams, but apparently all that blonde hair was blocking the damned signal,” he chuckled.

                Usagi sighed and rolled her eyes. “Sure sounds like your father. Tell Goku to tell him that I got the damned message,” she sighed, “and that I’ll think about it. But that’s all.”

                “He said you’d say that. Father said to remind you that you promised.”


	2. Chapter 2

_When you’re ready… find Raditz… promise me… promise me that you’ll be happy,_ r’sha _… like him, that’s all I’ve ever wanted for you…_

                It wasn’t the first time she’d thought of Vegeta’s final words to her without crying, and it wasn’t the first time she’d considered them and wondered if she was ready…

                …but it was the first time ever for her to acknowledge that she was at least ready to begin searching for him as she’d promised. And it wasn’t like she’d promised to do anything about it… Vegeta’s deathbed wish had only been for her to find him and for her to be happy… she knew what he’d meant, but he’d never said she had to be happy _with_ Raditz.

                Because as far as she was concerned, she’d never love another man the way she’d loved Vegeta.

                Never.

#######################################

                She’d kissed the twins goodbye, still unable to believe that they were all grown up as the daughter she’d known before she was even born hugged her tightly and swore to pray to her grandmother for her safe return. Geta had been quieter, more thoughtful, just like his father. But he had wished her luck and had made it clear that she were to call him immediately and have Chibi-Usa transport him to her side should she need any help.

                Both of them had made it clear years ago that they would never blame her if she found love again, so at least she knew that they weren’t upset about her leaving to find Raditz… even if she was determined to do nothing other than just locate him and go home.

                Tarble and Trunks, on the other hand… she kissed them goodbye as well, and they both beamed at her, the latter giving her a wink. Trunks she could hide it from, but not Tarble. He knew that his mother still had feelings for Raditz, and he’d expressed on more than one occasion that she needed to pursue him and be happy again.

Even if she knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that she wouldn’t love Raditz like she did Vegeta.

                Usagi teleported to the little planet that her and Vegeta visited every year on their anniversary; she wasn’t surprised to find it abandoned and sighed at the sight of the little cottage where she’d healed him over two centuries ago. No, she wouldn’t go inside, that place just held too many memories for her to handle right then. She’d probably never enter that house again if she knew herself as well as she thought she did. “I miss you, Geta,” she sighed before teleporting again, this time to the Saiyan colony planet, New Vegeta-sai.

                She found Broly immediately and wasn’t surprised to be hugged tightly; the very few times she’d visited during the last ten years had always started out with tight hugs from any and all Saiyans that knew her from the battle with Arctic. And even though Vegeta had passed on, they all regarded her with the respect afforded to only a queen of the Saiyans. “How are the brats, Usa?”

                “Fine, they told me to send their love for everyone if I stopped by. Hell, they knew I would,” Usagi sighed. “I’m going to cut to the chase, Broly… and please don’t be upset, but… have you seen Raditz?” For a moment she thought he was going to yell at her, but she was stunned by his soft, sad smile. “Broly?”

                “Vegeta told me, you know. It’s almost like he knew it was going to happen before it did. A few months before he got sick, he told me to make sure to always keep tabs on Raditz should anything ever happen to him. That his final request to you would only be that you find him. He also swore me to secrecy on the matter. The only other people that know are your boys; Vegeta had a very long conversation with them about respecting the wishes of the dead and the wishes of their mother. Geta was pretty upset by it but agreed to heed whatever decision you would make in the event of his father’s death.”

                “If he was alive… I don’t know whether I’d slap him for making such plans… or kiss him for being such a perfect mate,” Usagi whispered.

                “Usagi, _all_ Saiyan males plan for their mates in the event of their passing. _All_ of us do. And I guaran-fucking-tee you that Vegeta made some sort of blood pact with Raditz later on, in secret, regarding rights to you should he die. It’s called _v’enra_ , when one male bequeaths his mate and children’s welfare to another, including first rights to his mate should the warrior taking on the responsibility want to claim her. ” Broly held up his hands in a gesture of peace when Usagi glared at him. “It’s a common tradition, Usa. Don’t get all pissed off. Saiyans do it to assure themselves that their mates will be properly cared for, and only the most trusted of warriors are asked to do such a thing for another. What Vegeta asked of Raditz is a great honor to him. To be entrusted with the happiness and welfare of his queen and his heirs.”

                Usagi simply stared up at the night sky for several moments and shook her head slowly. “You didn’t promise anything to him except to find him,” she breathed to herself. And then a little louder, “ok… tell me where he is.”

                “I will, but… you’ll do more than find him,” Broly chuckled. “I know about the pact that you unknowingly made with Raditz as well. Whatever you do, do _not_ give him back the hair that he gave you… unless you’re prepared to consummate a pairbond with him. He’ll probably hand you yours the first moment he sees you, and it would be wise to accept it, but make it clear that you need a little time. You know Raditz will wait.”

                Usagi blushed and sighed in embarrassment, rubbing the bridge of her nose. “Vegeta told me about the hair thing… I swear I didn’t know any better, Broly.”

                “I know,” he snickered, “and Turles was extremely amused by it when he told us all the story. He said that he thought for a split second about warning you, but then figured, ‘hell, maybe this will get my brother some snatch.’”

                “Yeah, like Raditz ever needed any help with that. Just tell me where he is.”

#################################

                She hadn’t been surprised to find out that Raditz was staying on the planet with the black sand and the perfect blue ocean, and she teleported to her usual spot only to appear in the middle of a huge crowd on a boardwalk, making everyone right around her jump in surprise. “Damn, and this spot was uninhabited the last time I was here.” Ignoring all the stares, Cosmos simply wove her way through the people to where the beach was now located; nearly five hundred yards further out. Apparently the ocean had evaporated a good bit but it still seemed as beautiful and clean as she remembered.

                Cosmos detransformed and sat down on the sand, simply staring out at the late afternoon sun while she reminisced and pondered the idea of simply going home and forgetting this whole thing. But no… Vegeta had asked only this of her. She would do this because the love of her life had requested it, and then she could go home and live a quiet life of solitude, teaching her daughter the ways of their powers and eventually helping with her grandchildren. _One day_ , she thought with a smirk. There was a girl that Veg had taken a liking to, and Rissi and Geta had been talking for some time about children.

                Ah, yet another thing that was her fault. She’d overheard Rissi saying that she wasn’t bringing a child into the world so long as all of their efforts were focused around caring for Geta’s grandmother… and frankly, Usagi couldn’t blame her. Hopefully the apology she’d given Rei’s daughter five years ago had been sufficient. She _had_ been a burden on them all and genuinely felt horrible about it.

                The sun was setting when she finally summoned the courage to flare her ki in one of the countless ki words that Vegeta had taught her. _Raditz._ Usagi knew she wouldn’t have to wait long—but she didn’t expect him to immediately appear at her side the moment she’d called out to him.

                The long-haired Saiyan simply gazed into the blue eyes he’d frequently dreamed about for the last ten years—no one had told him right away of Vegeta’s death, but he’d known when the dreams had started that Usagi was no longer bound by a mating bond—and soaked in her soothing scent before finally kneeling in front of her and yanking her into his arms.

                “Raddy, I—“

                “Shut up, angel,” he whispered into her hair, his entire body trembling slightly as he held her. “Just shut up.”

                They didn’t break away until well after the sun had set, both of their eyes shining with tears when they finally looked at each other once more. “No matter what you choose, angel… I’m never leaving your side again, do you understand me?” Raditz whispered as he traced her face with his fingertips. “I was a fool to ever do so, an immature idiot for breaking your heart… and my own as well.” It was then that he couldn’t control himself a moment longer and he pulled her back into his arms, only this time he was kissing her with every ounce of love he’d ever felt for her.

                Usagi broke away after several seconds, weeping silently as the sound of the purr she hadn’t heard in two centuries filled the air. It wasn’t identical to Vegeta’s, but it was close enough in its timbre and pattern that it flooded her with memories and made her ache inside for her mate. “I’m sorry, Raddy, I—“

                “No, beautiful… **_I’m_** sorry. I… I shouldn’t have done that. Forgive me,” he sighed sadly as he kissed the crown of her head. “Come on, I’ve been tracking your movements all day; I know you must be tired.”

                Usagi blinked in surprise and found herself scowling up at him, her arms folded indignantly over her chest. “You’ve been what? _Excuse_ me?”

                Ah, there was the Usagi he remembered so well. Raditz couldn’t help but smirk a little sheepishly and shrug. “I dream about you sometimes, and well… about a week ago I dreamed that I would find you here. So I was just keeping an eye out.” His smile faded when she glanced away at the ground thoughtfully. “I wouldn’t have come over if you hadn’t called me, angel.”

                _Thanks, Vegeta_ , she snorted mentally. Apparently she wasn’t the only one her mate had been trying to talk to. _A meddler even in death._ “Where were you at?”

                That grin was back and Raditz’s hand flew behind his head as he shrugged. Dear gods, he looked like Goku when he did that. “Over there, behind that sand dune. I know, it sounds all creepy pervert stalker, but when I felt your ki appear on this planet…” And the smile was gone again as he regarded her seriously. “…I don’t think I could have stayed away if I’d wanted to,” he sighed. He snagged her hand then and began to tug her alongside as he walked.

                Usagi couldn’t help but focus on the warmth of his hand engulfing her own, the familiarity of something so simple—something they used to do all the time—soothing her and bringing back a few good memories that she hadn’t thought of in forever. “Is Turles here?” She asked softly.

                “Heh… he’s out on a bit of a bender right now, as well as a shipping job. Reiko’s pregnant, you know,” he informed her with a little chuckle. “Again.”

                She wasn’t Rei’s reincarnation, but damn if she didn’t look like Rei. Turles’s little firestarter from Althea also had a temper to match the former princess of Mars as well, so Usagi could only imagine the hell she was putting the father-to-be through. “Poor Turles… how are the other kids? Do they climb in their Uncle Raddy’s hair?” Usagi giggled.

                Raditz relished that sound and smiled warmly. “Oh, you’d best believe it. I had to check my hair before I left the house to make sure I didn’t have a brat nestled in there somewhere.” When she laughed he squeezed her hand. “I wish I was joking, angel! My mane is a favorite hiding spot for hide-and-seek or for whenever Reiko’s mad at one of them.”

                “Dear gods… how many kids is that for Turles, now?”

                “This next one will be twenty-five,” he snorted. “At least their oldest four are helping out around the house when they’re not at their own homes. But then there are days when Tarra’s bringing over her own three brats and the house just turns into total chaos… if it isn’t already,” he snorted. “We’re lucky that Turles and I make good enough money to support all those ravenous little mouths.”

                “Geta once said that there was no way in hell he could ever handle having more than three children, grown or otherwise,” Usagi said with a bittersweet smile. “I couldn’t blame him; Geta and Usa were quite the handful, and I have it on good authority that Trunks was even worse. But then Tarble came along, and he was such a quiet baby that Vegeta was floored.”

_“This one takes after you, woman. Thank the gods.”_

_“Doesn’t that mean he should never shut up?”_

_“You’re right, I take it back. He’s **my** boy.” A flash of that grin she’d loved so much made her giggle and she kissed him as she set the baby back down._

                “Well, angel, you’re about to get your fill of babies just by walking into my home,” Raditz snorted as he led her towards a huge house just off the beach and swung open the door. Chaos greeted their ears and something that sounded like a stampede came from across the house, the noise getting closer until a pack of wild Saiyan children dove on top of them.

                “WHOA WHOA WHOA!” A female voice yelled over the din of children ranging from the ages of toddler to teenager. “Let your Uncle Radu breathe, damn it! And—“ Reiko froze and gaped for a moment before smiling slowly at the sight of blonde hair poking out of the dogpile. “Usagi?”

                “Yeah, I’m under here somewhere!” She giggled, the hilarity of it all washing away the morose mood she’d been in for hours. “And Reiko? Have you and Turles figured out how these things are made just yet? Because I’m beginning to wonder if you even know?” She added sheepishly.

                “Oh, we know. Don’t forget that when I go into heat every six months that Turles can’t seem to keep it in his pants. We’re lucky we don’t have twice the number, honestly; if you go by the odds, I managed to fend him off something like seven-eighths of the time.” She fished around beneath a pile of black Saiyan hair and finally found a hand, yanking Usagi to her feet as she ignored the protests of the kids. “Tea?”

                “Yes, thank you,” Usagi snorted as she lifted one leg high to step over a pair of what looked like twins. “Two sets of them? Dear gods.”

                “Ugh… don’t get me started, Usa,” Reiko grumbled good-naturedly as she led the blonde to the kitchen and they left Raditz to dig himself out of the melee. “So…” She began as she set out mugs and started to pour hot water. Unable to find a way to put it tactfully, she tipped her head towards the sound of Raditz’s voice and lifted her eyebrows questioningly.

                Usagi just sat and studied the grain of the tabletop. “It was Geta’s final wish for me to find him.”

                “He made Raditz his _v’enra_ , you know,” Reiko whispered, giving Usagi’s hand a sisterly squeeze.

                “Broly just told me a few hours ago; I wasn’t even aware of such a tradition until today. Huh… what about Turles…? Did he choose Raditz, too?” Usagi asked with simple curiosity.

                Reiko laughed at that and shook her head. “No, if Vegeta hadn’t asked Raditz, Turles would have, though. A _v’enra_ can only be chosen by one person unless the mate and children of the chooser are all deceased. Turles chose Broly for me,” she snickered. “I pick on Turles sometimes, you know. I tell him at least he picked one of the sexiest men I’ve ever met to fuck me should he pass away.” She winked at Usagi when the blonde just gaped at her in disbelief. “I heard he kissed you once; how was it?”

                “Um… uh… pretty good, actually,” Usa sputtered, turning to her tea to give her hands something to do.

                Reiko sighed and frowned as she sat and gave Usagi’s hand another squeeze. “Sorry, I guess I shouldn’t joke, huh? So what now, Usa?”

                “Always to the point, aren’t you, Reiko?” She mused as she recalled another raven-haired woman that had been the exact same way. When her semi-sister-in-law just shrugged and waited, Usagi sighed and mimicked the shrug. “I did what he wanted. I found Raditz. Now I guess… I’ll go home. I don’t know,” she whispered as she fluffed her hair thoughtfully and glanced over her shoulder to see Raditz picking himself out of the heap.

                “Usagi… please don’t be upset with me, but… I think it’s time you moved on. And Raditz… I guess I’m more than a little biased since I’m his sister and I know him so well, but… that man loves you so hard that it’s scary. He even knew when… well, you know,” she sighed. “Did he tell you he hasn’t been with a woman since then? He’s been _waiting_ for you.” Reiko handed her a napkin when tears began to spill from Usagi’s eyes and she shook her head slowly. “I’m sorry, Usa… I don’t mean to upset you, but I think you should know what kind of hell Raditz has put himself through. Over a century ago, he was in a really dark mood and Turles got him good and drunk, and he wound up crying on my shoulder for hours while he told me about how much he hates himself for ever hurting you and for letting you go.”

                “So you’re saying that I should just hop into bed with him,” Usagi stated emotionlessly, though her mind was anything **_but_** emotionless at the moment.

                “No… I’m saying that you should just stay for a while. If anything, it’ll give Raddy some peace, maybe. And I could use the extra help around the house,” she added with a smile as she tried to lighten the mood a bit.

                “Where’s Turles?”

                “Shipping run. He’ll be home in two more days. He checks in on the scouter a few times a day to make sure we’re all fine… and then once at night for phone sex,” she added with a dirty whisper. Reiko was glad to get a tiny smile out of the blonde at that remark, and she turned her head to see Raditz watching Usagi from the doorway quietly, his eyes a storm of emotion. “Would you like a beer, brother?”

                Raditz’s gaze didn’t even leave the blonde as he lifted one shoulder noncommittally. “All of the youngest brats are tucked in except for Rei; she’s waiting on me to kiss her goodnight and read her a bedtime story. The older ones are finishing their homework or in the training room.”

                Usagi couldn’t help but look up and blink at him. “Did you say ‘Rei’?”

                “Yeah, one of the horde, and very adept at firestarting for a six year old,” Raditz replied with a smirk. “She’s bossy as hell, too. You should hear her ordering Cee-Cee and Kale around like they were her slaves or something.”

                _Looks like I’m taking someone to meet Goten in a decade or so,_ Usagi snorted to herself. “Sounds like you have a little Turles on your hands.”

                “Gods, woman, don’t remind me,” Raditz chuckled. “I remember when that little smartass was born, and he was the bane of my existence until I started helping Father train him.” He ran a hand absently through the mass of golden hair on her head before nodding back towards the hallway. “Come on, angel. I’ll help you get settled somewhere for the night.” He stopped when she stiffened and closed his eyes for several seconds to get his emotions under control, knowing that right then wasn’t the time to declare his undying love for her and sweep her off her feet. “Unless you’re returning to Earth, that is. I’ll pack my things if necessary.” He wasn’t going to repeat his previous statement never to leave her again, but he’d meant every word of it. Where she went, he would follow.

                Usagi bit back a yelp when she felt Reiko kick her shin under table, but shot her a glare that the old Rei would have been proud of. “She’s staying,” Reiko answered for her. “After all, it’s too late to just pop out now. I think there’s one spare room Usagi can use while Tarra’s staying over; it should be the one right next to yours, Raddy.”

                “I thought we were converting that one over so Cee-Cee could have her own room?” Raditz mumbled, scratching his head. “Eh, doesn’t matter, we’ll find you a bed, Usa. Come on,” he urged, taking her hand in his as if it was the most natural thing in the world for him. They made it up the stairs and were immediately greeted by the sight of lots of faces looking around their doorjambs, all of which instantly disappeared the moment they were spotted.

                “Looks like no one wants to go to bed,” Usagi giggled.

                “Nah, they normally listen to me, they just…” Raditz blushed a little and shrugged. “They had a lot of questions about you. They’re curious. You’re a bit of a regular bedtime story around this place, you know, and even the older kids haven’t seen you in decades.”  

                It was Usagi’s turn to blush as a couple doors cracked open again and little sets of violet and ebony eyes watched them both quietly. “Well… I’m flattered.” She smiled at the sight of a very familiar face and waggled her fingers. “I’ll bet my fuku that you’re Rei, aren’t you?”

                The door opened a little wider and the little girl came forward and regarded her with a scowl. “Are you the silver lady that Daddy and Tarra tell me about?”

                “Probably, wh—OW!” Usagi yelped as she was kicked in the shin for the second time that evening. Well, like mother, like daughter.

                “Rei, what was that for!?” Raditz snapped, eyes wide as he scooped her up and swatted her bottom. “We don’t kick people, especially the Queen of the Saiyans!”

                “I don’t _care_ if she’s the queen!” Rei yelled up at him, trying not to spin in the air as he gripped her by the back of her nightgown. “Tarra said she broke your heart into a million little pieces, and that’s why you’re sad all the time and won’t take a mate!”

                Usagi blanched at that and was fishing around in her head for something to say when Raditz growled down at the child and yanked her up to eye level with him. “Tarra needs to learn to tell the whole story, brat, and not just bits and pieces that are convenient to remember. Did she bother to tell you that our queen was our queen **_because_** she was already mated to our king?” Raditz set her down when she shook her head and he knelt in front of her. “And what have I told you about taking a mate, Rei?”

                “Always faithful,” she mumbled as she looked down at her toes, clearly ashamed that she’d upset her uncle.

                “Exactly. Now apologize to Usagi and get your violent little ass in bed.”

                Rei actually performed a perfect little curtsy and bowed her head. “My apologies, Majesty.”

                Usagi knelt and kissed her forehead. “I can forgive you easily since you were just defending your Uncle Raddy, honey. There’s nothing wrong with that.”

                Rei raised her head and smiled a little before pecking her on the cheek. “Can I call you Aunt Usa?” She grinned when Usagi nodded and shrugged. “Good. Are you going to be Uncle Radu’s mate, now?” When Usagi just went slack-jawed she turned to Raditz. “Well? Are you going to claim her or are you going to keep sitting here with your thumb up your ass?”

                “Bossy little thing,” he mumbled under his breath. “You’re getting way too big for your britches, brat. I suggest you get your ass in bed before I haul you in there by your tail,” he growled before standing to make good on the threat.

                Rei was gone in a Saiyan flash, her door closing behind her, and they both heard her jumping into the bed with a thunk. “Well, they sure can move quickly when you get mad at them,” Usagi chuckled.

                Raditz sighed and shook his head. “I’m sorry about that; Tarra’s got a big mouth and I’m a bit of the favorite around here with all of the brats. It’s not the first time one of them’s asked about you,” he admitted bitterly.

                “Raddy… you and I really need to clear the air, don’t we? Come on, let’s go find that spare room, ok?”

                He was about to suggest waiting until morning to have a chat, but no… she was right. And he knew he’d never get any sleep until he’d gotten a few things off of his chest. “Alright, come on.” Raditz didn’t expect to find the room right away, but when they’d traversed four levels of the house and had come up with nothing he sighed and leaned against a wall. “I swear I didn’t plan this, Usa. Tell you what, come on down and sleep in my room. I’ll take the couch.”

                “No, Raditz. I’ll take the couch; I’m not about to kick you out of your bed,” Usagi said flatly. “Just let me use your bathroom to change for the night and I’ll get out of your hair… since there’s already one baby swinging from it,” she added with a tiny smile.

                “Huh, wha?” Raditz grabbed his hair and sure enough, there was a toddler scaling Mt. Radu. “Kale—er, Barley, whichever one you are! Go get your little ass in bed!” Raditz snorted as he plucked him out of his mane and set him on the floor. When the baby babbled something out and pointed behind him, Raditz sighed and hung his head dramatically. “Ok, I have to go a little, so one more time. Then bed, ok, Barley?”

                Usagi tried to follow, but Raditz stopped her outside a bathroom door. “Not unless you want to see my cock, angel,” he said with a smile that didn’t quite translate to his eyes.

                “Ah, potty training lessons. I gotcha,” she replied before standing to the side of the door and smiling at the sound of Raditz showing Barley how to pee like a man. She giggled when she heard “only two shakes or it’s playing with yourself, boy,” and was still chuckling when they came out after flushing and washing their hands.

                “YEAH! WENT PEE PEE!” The little boy squealed before running back to his room in just his drawers.

                “Any more brats in my hair?”

                “Nah, I think you’re clean, Raditz.” Usagi let him lead her back down by one floor and into a spacious bedroom, and the scent inside immediately relaxed her to the bones but made her heart race at the same time. Thank the gods she was sleeping on the couch… oh, his couch, apparently, judging by the way he was moving around the room and grabbing pillows and blankets. “I, uh… I thought you meant the couch downstairs…?”

                “I’ll be damned,” Raditz snorted. “You think I’m going to let you sleep where one of Turles’s randy sons can come in and find you unmarked? They may be just puppies compared to me, but they’re old enough to take mates, woman. You’re sleeping in here,” he said firmly, “and that’s final.”

                “Oh… ok, then,” she whispered, her face coloring at the thought of sleeping all night surrounded by that wonderful smell. “I’ll just go change, then.” Usagi took her time in the bathroom, putting on the most modest nightgown she owned before braiding her hair and washing her face, and when she returned she found Raditz already bedded down on the couch. “Raditz, what are you doing? I’m not taking your bed from you.”

                Growing cranky from the way he was fighting his beast, he just cracked open one eye and studied her for a long moment. “You belong in my bed, woman. If you have a problem with where I’m sleeping then we can share it.”

                Usagi sighed in defeat and climbed in the enormous bed, and if she’d been Saiyan she would have been purring at the strong musky scent embedded into the very fabric of the pillows and sheets. It was so downright soothing that it was already lulling her to sleep, what was likely to be the first good night’s sleep she’d gotten since Vegeta’s three-day furlough.

                It wasn’t, though. It was broken and she was awakened several times by the sound of Raditz tossing and turning on the couch, and finally Usagi sat up in the pitch and sighed. “Come on, Raddy… the bed’s more than big enough to share, and neither of us are going to get any sleep like this.”

                Raditz wasn’t going to turn her down, but he didn’t want to scare her off, either. “You sure, angel?”

                “Yeah, it’s ok.”

                He wasn’t going to ask a second time and quickly rolled off the couch, bringing his pillows with him, and climbed into the bed. But he still couldn’t sleep, knowing that she was within reaching distance. “Angel?”

                “Mmm?”

                “Please… may I hold you?”

                The pleading, hurt little boy tone made her scoot over to his side of the bed and nestle her face into his bare chest, which immediately began to vibrate in a happy purr. Usagi didn’t complain about the strong arms enfolding her or the tail wrapping possessively about her waist, and she had to admit to herself that she felt truly safe and comfortable for the first time in over five years. “We still need to talk, Raddy.”

                Raditz sighed, but he eventually gave her a little nod. “I love you. I always have and I always will… and I lied through my teeth two hundred years ago when you asked me.”

                “I know you did… and I did, too.” She trembled as his hands caressed her back soothingly while he nuzzled his face into her hair. “What do we do, Raditz?”

                “That’s up to you, my angel. My heart’s always been yours and you can do with it as you please. But I swore not to leave your side again and I won’t. If you return to Earth, I’m coming with you, understand?” Raditz’s purr had stopped, but it started back up when she nodded slightly. “We’ll talk more in the morning after we’ve slept in.” He tipped her face up then and smiled down at her in the dark before just barely touching his lips to hers and burying his face in her hair once more. “My angel,” he sighed happily.

##############################

                They both woke late, and Usagi was honestly astonished by the amount of restraint he showed when he only kissed her once. It was a lingering kiss, yes… but it had been accompanied with a tender caress of her jawline and nothing more before he’d rolled out of bed and made his way to the bathroom while sporting an impressive display of morning wood. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen a Saiyan warrior wear pants to bed,” she blurted out when he returned and offered her the bathroom.

                “Complaining, angel? I’d be more than happy to take them off right now if you’d like,” he offered with a wicked little smirk.

                Usagi snorted and rolled her eyes. “Pervert. Sure you don’t want the shower first?”

                “Not unless you want to share?” He asked playfully, feeling better than he had in years. Raditz hadn’t slept that well in a decade, and now that he was truly refreshed and could properly think, he could begin to think of ways to make her happy and hopefully claim her. He grinned when she blushed and darted into the bathroom, but noted with wonder that she hadn’t locked the door. An invitation? Or a test of trust? Or just plain forgetfulness?

                Probably a little bit of all three; Raditz was positive that she wanted him but was still dealing with her grief for her mate, and he wouldn’t take advantage of that. He did poke his head into the bathroom though, for just a brief moment. “Got everything you need, angel?”

                “Yeah, thanks,” came her reply after a long moment of quiet, probably while she cursed herself for accidentally leaving the door unlocked. “Shit, where are the towels in here?”

                “May I step in? I’ll grab you one.” He took her silence as permission and actually smelled a hint of arousal when he returned to the shower curtain and set a towel down on the floor in front of it. “On the floor for you, angel,” he said before leaving.

                Usagi let out a rush of air and leaned against the shower wall when she heard him leave; she simply hadn’t thought to lock the door, and when he’d come in she’d fully expected him to take that as an invitation. Damn it… maybe it had been, maybe her subconscious mind was trying to tell her to just lose herself in him for the rest of her life and find happiness once more. It was what Vegeta had wanted for her; there wasn’t a chance in Hell that Vegeta would have ever asked her to take another mate if he hadn’t been serious about it and the least Usagi could do in his memory was try to respect his wishes.

                “I’ll try,” she breathed towards the ceiling as she rinsed the soap from her hair. “Vegeta… if you can hear me, I’ll try.”

                Raditz was waiting on the couch when Usagi returned and his nostrils flared at her scent. “Come here,” he ordered without even looking up from the book he was reading. He yanked her into his lap and immediately flared his ki to dry her before removing the towel from her hair and burying his nose in the golden mass. “Mmm… much better… but you washed all my scent off of you, woman. We need to fix that before we head to breakfast.”

                “Huh? Why is it such a big deal? You’ll be there, so—“ Usagi gasped when he cut her off with a firm but short kiss and quickly shook her head when he tugged at her towel. “No, Raddy,” she whispered, and she relaxed when he let go of the only thing covering her.

                “Sorry,” he groaned softly into her hair. “I… I didn’t mean to…”

                “I know, I know,” she replied, soothingly stroking her fingers through his hair. “The beastie’s getting a little out of hand, I know. Tell you what,” she sighed. _I swore to try, and I do care for him… probably more than I’ll even admit to myself._ “Let me get some clothes on and I’ll let you hold me for a little while.”

                Raditz’s beast blinked at the unexpected offer and he nodded vigorously, releasing her so she could grab the clothes she’d laid out the night before and change behind the bathroom door. And once she was back in his lap he was purring happily, setting his book to the side so he could hold her tightly with both arms. “And to answer your question, I don’t want Bardock or Junior thinking they can try and put the moves on you, Usa. I’ve had to take those boys out back a few times and I don’t want to do it with you here. Alright?”

                Usagi understood what he hadn’t said aloud and nodded. If either of his oldest nephews tried to make a move on her, they’d get beaten to within an inch of their lives. “Make with the pheromones, then,” she sighed in defeat. She kept still while his tail went to work, but she could tell he was keeping the scent down to a minimum so as not to arouse her. “Thank you for that,” she said knowingly.

                “Welcome,” he rumbled, unable to stop his face from inching closer to hers. “Usa…?”

                She cracked open her eyes and licked her lips when she found his only an inch from her own. “Ok,” she whispered, closely her eyes once more as she closed the gap. “But only a—“ His mouth cut her off before she could finish the sentence and she moaned softly when he kissed her how he had on the beach, hot, raw and totally uninhibited, his tongue parting her lips almost immediately and stroking over her own. Gods, she’d been aching for this, she realized, wanting nothing more than to melt into a man that loved her unconditionally and lose herself in his embrace, if only for a little while.

But no, not yet. Raditz deserved that kind of love in return, and while she was close to loving him she wasn’t quite there yet. So when his hands began to slip beneath her top she made a soft noise of protest and redirected them to her sides. His hands began to move again but she didn’t resist when they stayed to her sides, her back, her hair and her face. That was fine, since she was doing a little bit of touching in those areas as well, exploring the body she’d once known so well.

Raditz finally pulled away when he felt his control beginning to slip, but sighed in pure contentment at the sight of her hazy blue eyes. “Love you so much, angel,” he murmured before going back in for one more long, slow kiss.

Usagi felt one of his hands join with hers this time, and wasn’t surprised to feel a soft bundle pressed between their palms. She’d been wondering when he would return the hair to her—just as Broly had predicted—and apparently that moment was now. His fingers linked with hers as he drew away, but the moment she tried to speak he silenced her with a serious look.

“I come to you freely,” he whispered solemnly, “unbound to another, to fulfill the pact we made.” Raditz leashed his beast tightly when he felt her tremble nervously against him. “When you’re ready, Usa…” He then whispered something in Saiyan and it took Usagi a long moment to translate.

_I’m your v’enra, and I’m ready to be your mate._

“I… I understand, Raditz.” _But not yet._ It didn’t have to be said aloud, she knew he understood.

 Raditz used his other hand to close hers around the bundle of blonde and silver braid before nodding and kissing her gently. “Alright, baby… time for you to get out and me to take a cold shower… unless you’d like to stay.”

“Not… not yet, Raddy,” she finally whispered aloud, pecking him once on the jaw before sliding out of his lap and fiddling with the bound hair nervously. “I’ll um… is it safe to head downstairs, then? Did you get enough of your scent on me?”

Raditz’s lips twitched up in a tiny smirk as he nodded. “I could always get more on you if you’d like, angel?” It was more of a question than a statement; of course he would be totally fine with stripping her down and really rubbing up against her. The very thought of it made him purr again, that rich, seductive pattern that he’d been trying so hard to keep in check.

“Not yet,” she reiterated, giving him an anxious look before retreating from the bedroom. She needed to get out of there and fast, before she did or said something stupid.

Well, ‘not yet’ definitely meant ‘later.’ Or at least ‘eventually.’ He hopped in the shower, still purring his head off, and decided against the cold shower. A hot one and a few rounds of pleasuring himself were more in order to relieve the aching need in his groin.


	3. Chapter 3

Usagi stopped dead on her way downstairs when she found it blocked by a pair of Turles look-alikes, and when they wouldn’t move she crossed her arms over her chest and huffed. “Boys, if you don’t move, I’ll move you myself. No one gets between the Queen of the Saiyans and breakfast,” she added with a wry smirk.

“Told you it was Aunt Usa’s scent I caught downstairs,” one of them said to the other. “What? You don’t remember us, Aunt Usa?”

“Well, since you both look like your father and you’re grown, I’d say you’re Bardock and Turles Junior.”

The one that was grinning nodded and hugged her, but the other merely sniffed the air and frowned, his chest hitching in a brief purr.

Both Usa and the nephew hugging her froze at that sound and looked up. “Bardy?” The one that could now only be Turles Junior asked nervously. “Bardy… she’s Uncle Raditz’s, you _know_ that. Fuck, dude, you can smell him _all over_ her.”

“He hasn’t bitten her,” he pointed out with another soft rumbling of a purr. But the horrified look his brother shot him had him huffing and retreating down the stairs. “Later.”

“I seriously doubt it, kid,” Usagi snorted, rolling her eyes.

Bardock just turned his head to look her up and down, clearly appraising her figure as he swished his tail lazily in what she knew as an invitation to mate. “Go to breakfast before Uncle Raddy comes in and kills you,” Junior hissed out in near panic. “Gods! Fucking _alphas_!” He sighed once Bardock was gone.

“It’s ok,” Usagi snorted when the younger nephew shot her an apologetic look. “If there’s anything I’ve learned since I first met your Uncle Raddy, it’s how to handle an alpha male. Come on, let’s not worry about it and go get something to eat. I’m starving, kiddo.”

They went into the dining room then and Usagi wasn’t surprised to find Bardy watching her with naked lust in his eyes, his tail swishing on occasion. But the moment she scented his pheromones, she giggled at the way Reiko was stalking up behind him.

WHACK!

“MOTHER!? WHAT THE FRESH HELL WAS THAT FOR!?”

A full head shorter than her oldest son, Reiko simply folded her arms over her large belly and gave him the eye when he stood and stared down at her, growling under her breath. “Boy, I will call your father this instant and have him come straight home to take your ass out back and beat you. Not only are you staring at your **_aunt_** like she’s a virgin going into the burning, but you are spreading that stink of seduction pheromones in _my_ dining room! With your little _sisters_ in the room, nonetheless! _Gross,_ Bardock! Now take your ass to the shower and wash that smell off right NOW!” She yelled.

“Mom, I’m hungry,” he grumbled, slouching a bit to make himself look smaller.

“You can eat when you don’t smell like you’re horny,” she snorted, whacking his ass with the flat of her hand. “Now go wash up!” She ordered, pointing towards the back door. “And if you get that domineering posturing with me again, Bardock, I’ll forgo calling your father and I’ll just set your tail on fire!”

“Sorry, Mother.”

“Damn right you are. **_Now_** **_git, boy_**.”

“Are you sure you weren’t a bitchy shrine maiden in a past life?” Usagi cackled as she took a seat and Bardock left the room with his tail drooping between his legs, headed for the training room showers.

“Not to my knowledge,” Reiko grumbled before going into a little tirade in Althean about how gross and impolite Saiyan teenagers were. “And he may be almost a hundred,” she added in the common tongue, “but I swear he’s still a little fucking boy sometimes!”

Usagi just smiled at that, reminded of how Vegeta had once explained how he had pretty much been a child at twenty-seven—when Trunks had been conceived—even though he was of physical breeding age. For Saiyans, that calmer maturity came much later for most of them. It had explained a lot about Raditz’s behavior when he’d left her the first time. “Sow their oats and pillage and fight,” she mused. “Then they’ll calm down after about a century.”

“Well, it’s been nearly a century, and I’m still ready to wring his fucking neck most days,” Reiko hissed as she sat down at her oldest child’s insistence and had a plate set in front of her.

“Eat, Momma,” Tarra chuckled. “It’s only because Aunt Usagi’s about to go into heat, I’m sure.”

Usa blushed at that and glanced over at Junior, who had securely wrapped his tail around his own waist to keep it from swishing around and getting him into trouble. “Turley?”

“Yeah,” he confirmed, digging into his pancakes the moment Tarra served some up. “You’ve got a few days before you’re really fertile, though. It was faint on the stairwell, but it’s getting stronger.”

Reiko cracked a smile when Usagi turned bright red and began to idly twirl her fork in the syrup. “Which means that Raditz is going to smell it when he gets his ass down here. Hope you brought a party hat.”

“Party!?” One of Tarra’s boys yelled. “Where, Momma!? I wanna go to the party!”

“Not until you’re sixteen,” Tarra snickered. “Now eat and hush. Adults are talking.”

 “We saved you some pancakes, Uncle Raddy!” Tarra exclaimed suddenly when she smelled him coming down the stairs, freshly washed, dried and dressed for the day. Then a fight broke out amongst the smaller kids and she turned back around, her tail lashing through the air. “Arta, Chok, Ruta, Bega! Fucking share, you brats!” She snapped at four of the massive horde crowded around the equally massive table. “Barley! Damn it, kid, no! Wait until your Uncle Raddy has—ok, fine! Hops, take your twin to the bathroom and show him how to piss!”

Usagi blinked at that and slowly smiled. “Ok, seriously? Turles named the twins Barley and Hops?”

“Seemed fitting since he was wasted as hell when we conceived them,” Reiko replied with a shrug.

                “Dear gods,” she giggled. “Damn,” she added softly when Raditz came out of the kitchen, food stacked over a foot high on his plate. “That’s a whole lot of pancakes, Raddy.”

                Raditz puffed up at that and looked down at himself before locking eyes with her and grinning. “Well… I’m a whole lot of man!”

                _Yes he is,_ she thought privately as she really took in the tight black workout singlet—identical to her first mate’s in everything but color— that left nothing to the imagination as it hugged him closely. It was then that her suspicions from the last two hundred years were confirmed as she noticed the red band around his bicep and the one missing from his thigh. Of course he’d given her the one closest to his cock.

                “Something funny, angel?” Raditz asked as he sat down next to her.

                “Oh, just realized where the band around your hair came from,” she replied smoothly.

                Raditz barked out a laugh at that and nudged Turley out of his seat with a whack of his tail upside the kid’s head. “Mine, puppy. Move it or lose it.” Scooting his chair closer to Usagi, Raditz prepared to dig in when he caught a whiff of something far more delicious than just pancakes drowning in maple syrup, and he felt his beast rising to the surface as he instinctively bent closer to her and slid his nose over her throat. “Oh… sweet dear gods, **_no_** …” Something close to a groan of mixed delight and dread came out of his throat, and it took every ounce of willpower he had not to clamp down on her shoulder and bite her right then and there.

                “Raddy, don’t make me separate you two!” Reiko snapped. “I already kicked Bardy out of here for doing the tail thing.”

                Usagi cringed when he growled loudly in her ear and stared her down. “What!? What did I do!? I can hardly fucking help it that I’m going into heat!” She yelled.

                “Raditz!” Reiko snapped. “So help me gods, I will kick your giant fluffy ass out of my dining room, too! Stop all of that tail swishing this instant if you want any hope of eating breakfast!”

                “There’s something else I’d _much_ rather eat,” he purred as he bent his head to Usagi’s throat and nuzzled it, drawing in more of that delicious, arousing scent. The blonde could only give Reiko and Tarra the deer in the headlights look when he continued to purr seductively and switched from nuzzling her neck to nipping and kissing it.

                “A little help?” She squeaked out, her face flushing as she felt a familiar pooling of heat between her thighs. Gods, he knew all of her hot spots like the back of his hand!

                “Oh, you’re on your own for this one, Aunt Usa,” Tarra replied smoothly. “Like Momma said, I hope you brought a party hat.”

                “We’re going to have to do something to take care of this problem,” Raditz whispered in her ear, “but for now, I’ll keep it in check. After all, I’d hate to miss out on Saiyan-sized pancakes.”

                Usagi was relieved but surprised when he pulled away before digging into his breakfast and devouring it with typical Saiyan speed, though he was surprisingly neat about it and didn’t get a drop of syrup on anything but his face. “Care to get a taste, angel?” He teased once he was finished, stacking his plate on top of her own empty dish. “Seems like a shame to waste it on the napkin.”

                She’d sworn to try, but with dozens of eyes locked on the exchange she blushed and worried her lower lip before shaking her head slightly. He didn’t seem disappointed at least; if anything his smile only widened. “Later then, my angel. It’s time to take the littlest brats out for training, anyway. Tarra, where’s your mate?”

                “Aspar’s in the training room, engaged in some sort of pissing contest with Bardock,” she sputtered as she gently pushed her mother back into her seat and began to clear the table. “Stay put, Momma, I’ll get the dishes. Usagi, would you please help with the brats? Even Uncle Raddy has trouble wrangling them all.”

                Usagi missed the wink between uncle and niece as she shrugged and snagged a few children at once, helping to herd them out onto the beach. “So, what kind of training are we doing? Should I go change?”

                “Nah, you’re fine. We’re just working on dodging today,” Raditz replied casually as all of the kids stood still in random spots all over the beach. “Alright, brats! Me versus all of you, or… a total fucking melee?”

                “MELEE!” They all chorused.

                “Blood-thirsty little heathens,” Raditz snickered. “Alright, then!” He added loudly, “show your Auntie Usa how it’s done!”

                “How what’s done?” Usagi muttered out of the corner of her mouth.

                “Just watch,” he replied. “We’ll join them once you’ve got a good feel for the game.”

                No sooner had he said that, all of the children moved at once, darting around the beach as swiftly as they possibly could while they all tagged each other with very low-level ki-blasts, leaving their opponent with a new bruise whenever they got hit. And it was a total free-for-all melee out there; no one was targeting any one person, it was all just random, utterly chaotic violence. “It’s like Saiyan tag,” Usagi finally said, once she was over how skilled these kids all were, even the twins and a three year old girl. “But no one person is ‘it’.”

                “Can you make ki blasts?” Raditz inquired as he stealthily formed one in his hand.

                “Yeah, Geta taught me right after we mated,” Usagi commented. “But why? I’m a lot stronger than **_OW_**! What the fuck was that for!?” When he zapped her again she retaliated with a ki blast of her own, leaving a hole in his gi and a bruise on his abs. “You are so going to _pay_ for that, Raditz,” she growled ferally.

                “Oh, I love it when you get all feisty, angel,” Raditz chuckled as he backed into the battle on the beach. “Catch me if you can,” he added as he shifted to Super Saiyan.

                “UNCLE RADDY’S IN PLAY! GET HIM!” Junior shouted as he jumped into the game.

                “HEY!” Rei yelled at them as she flung a ball of fire at her brother, “YOU KNOW THE RULES ABOUT TARGETING DURING A MELEE! YOU TOO, AUNT USA!”

                Rules? Raditz had totally gotten her unawares! Fuck their rules! “Oh, I’m so nailing your ass,” she whispered under her breath as she dodged and tagged a couple of the older kids whenever they got closer, steadily working her way towards Raditz. Her prey was engaged in simply laughing as he dodged some of the littler kids, but he was quite obviously not moving as fast as he could in an attempt to let them think they actually stood a chance.

                Usagi struck while his back was turned, getting him in the one place that wasn’t concealed by hair… and got a nice look at an ass cheek as she put a hole in his gi.

                “Hey! Oh, it’s you! Well, angel… if you wanted to look at my ass you could have just asked,” Raditz snickered as he tagged her right back in the shoulder, moving so quickly she didn’t see it coming.

                Usagi’s hair turned half-silver as she poured on the speed and got him in the thigh, ducking and moving to avoid another retaliatory strike while Rei screamed something about the rules yet again, followed by a similar shout at Junior when he tagged the raven-haired girl once more. “OW!” Usagi yelped when she felt a blow to her own rear.

                “You want to target me, angel? You’re going to get your ass whooped,” Raditz crooned in her ear from behind before giving the other cheek a playful smack. It was his turn to yelp when she spun and got him again in the arm, and she was about to go full power when someone called time.

                “Oh, you’re **_so_** lucky,” she ground out through her teeth.

                “You have no idea,” he purred in response as he closed the gap. “Time for targeting penalties, angel.”

                “Penalties?” Usagi asked incredulously, crossing her arms over her chest. “Excuse me?”

                A pair of stomping feet caught her attention and she turned her head to find Rei standing in the same manner as herself, tapping her foot impatiently as she glowered up at her. “The penalty for targeting is a kiss for every hit!” She yelled up at her.

                “To kiss it and make it better,” Junior snorted as he strode up and kissed Rei on each of her cheeks. “It started with Tarra years ago because she’s such a pussy.”

                “I believe you hit me four times, angel,” Raditz said smugly. “I was keeping count, in fact.”

                Usagi looked around in a panic to find several of the kids exchanging kisses to each other’s cheeks, some of them gagging in disgust and grumbling or rolling their eyes. “Oh, you’ve got to be fucking kidding me,” she whimpered under her breath.

                “And for making us look at his ass, it had better be on the mouth,” Rei added with a tiny, mean smirk that reminded Usagi so much of Turles. “And don’t whine about how you’re in heat, either,” she purred mischievously.

                Waggling his eyebrows suggestively, Raditz simply stood there otherwise, tightly leashing his beast. “I’m waiting, my angel. Four of them. On the mouth.”

                Finding all of those black and violet eyes fixed on her, some of the older kids grinning knowingly, Usagi sighed in surrender, stood on her tiptoes, and simply pressed her lips to his. When he returned the modest kiss, she tasted maple syrup as he brushed his tongue over her lower lip.

                “One,” he murmured when she pulled away, his tail flicking as his inner beast grew impatient with waiting for more.

                Her eyes hazing over slightly as his pheromones filled her nose, Usagi leaned back in for number two, her own tongue sliding over the crease of his mouth as his chest rumbled in a barely audible purr and his tail began to really swish around behind him. But the moment his tongue made contact with hers she broke away with a blush and turned an even deeper shade of scarlet at the sight of so many grins on the older children… though at any other time she would have been laughing at the little ones, who were all making gagging and vomiting noises.

                “Two,” he rumbled, his tail snaking around her waist to drag her up against him tightly as he bent his head for the next taste of her.

                The next kiss was meant to be as chaste as she could possibly make it, but when his hand bunched in her hair and she felt his tongue attempting to coax her mouth open, she parted her lips and whimpered with desire, melting into him as he took control and his free hand began to wander while his chest vibrated in a loud, happy purr. The fact that they had an audience faded from her mind as he slowly devoured her, their tongues dueling lazily as he growled with approval at her submissive yet eager response.

                And when Raditz broke away, Usagi actually moaned in disappointment and cracked open her eyes to find nothing but deep desire in his. “Three,” she breathed out in a small rush of air. She blinked in surprise when he retreated from her slowly. “Raditz?”

                “She owes you one more, Uncle Radu,” Rei giggled up at them.

                Raditz licked his lips slowly and nodded, silently willing his cock to stay flaccid, just as he had been since the first kiss. And it was far from easy with the scent of her heat perfuming the air. “I think I’ll take the last one in private,” he replied huskily, knowing that he’d take her right there on the sand if he dared to allow himself to kiss her without a break to calm his beast. A long, long break, at that.

“Come on, my little matchmaker,” he snorted as he lifted Rei onto one of his massive shoulders. “Don’t think for a moment that I don’t know what you were up to. Don’t you find kissing gross at your age?” He added as he walked with her down the beach to check on all of the kids’ bruises.

                “Only if it’s Mommy and Daddy,” she giggled. “I think you and Aunt Usa are romantic,” she whispered in his ear.

############################

                Entering the training room an hour later, Raditz ignored Bardock’s snicker when his nephew saw the hole in the backside of his gi, instead growling at him angrily. “I have a bone to pick with you, _ge_ … and I think you know damned well what it’s about. So either power up right now and fight me to the death, or apologize and swear on your tail to _never_ show interest in my woman again.”

                Bardy’s eyes grew a little wide at that, and he actually fought down his beast’s furious reaction to such a challenge as his common sense kicked in for once in his life. If he fought Raditz, he would lose. Quickly and badly, at that. “You’d take it that far, Uncle Raddy?”

                “She’s _mine_ , boy,” Raditz snarled, stalking forward. In a flash of golden light, he was instantly a Super Saiyan, and he was pinning his oldest nephew to the wall, staring intimidatingly down at him with hard emerald eyes. “I waited over _two hundred_ years for her,” he hissed through his teeth. “I went through mental anguish that I can’t even explain to a puppy as young as you while I waited on her to be free to mate again. And when our king died, I waited ten more years for her to come to me… and now that she’s here, I will be **_damned_** if I’ll allow my rights as Vegeta’s _v’enra_ to be challenged by a whelp _like you_!” He shouted.

                “So make your choice, warrior. Fight me and die, or stay the fuck away from my mate. Understand me?”

                The crazy glint in Raditz’s eyes actually had Bardock’s beast shrinking back, and he nodded quickly. “Ok, ok! I’ll leave her alone! Damn it, Uncle Raddy, she was in heat and the scent took me by surprise!”

                “ _I don’t give a shit_ , Bardock! Leash your beast or I’ll _permanently_ leash it for you,” Raditz growled before slapping him hard upside the head. He then released him, his fist clenching as he fought the urge to put the younger alpha through the wall and really assert his dominance as the main alpha of their little pack of Saiyans. He didn’t need to, though… Reiko had already done it for him by calling Turles, who was on his way home as quickly as possible to keep his sons busy while Raditz pursued the object of his desire. “Now swear it on your tail.”

                “But, Uncle Rad—AH!” Bardock trembled slightly and then struggled in earnest when he was slammed forcefully into the wall, his body leaving a Saiyan-shaped dent in it.

                “ _Bardock, I will rip you into little fucking pieces and lovingly hand them to your father if you do not swear on your tail to stay the fuck away from my mate_!” Raditz roared loudly. “Now swear it or I will kill you here and now!”

                “I swear it on my tail! _Mah’ni! J’ha nava m’yo_!” He hadn’t even realized he’d been being held above the ground until Raditz suddenly dropped him, and Bardock panted for air as he knelt on the training room floor while Raditz’s footsteps stomped out and he slammed the door behind him. Damn… the waiting had made Raditz a little crazy where Usa was concerned apparently, and Bardock was going to make doubly sure to stay at least a hundred feet from her at all times.

#############################

                Usa jumped a mile when two arms suddenly ensnared her from behind and she heard a low, rumbling growl emanating from the chest pressed tightly to her back. Licking her lips, she stayed as still as she could and forced herself to relax. “Raditz?” She whispered nervously.

                “ _Mine_ ,” he growled with a nip to her cloth-covered shoulder. “ _K’sha m’yo_.”

                “Raditz?” She asked again, her eyes fluttering closed when he began to swish his tail around and nuzzle her throat.

                “Say it, Usa. You’re mine. I want to—no, I _need_ to hear it, right here and now,” he ground through his teeth, forcing his beast not to do anything that might anger her or scare her.

                “Does this have anything to do with Bardy and this morning?” She asked carefully as she scented his pheromones in the air and felt them beginning to cloud her senses. Mmm… shit, he smelled so good that it was quickly making her feel soft and compliant, making her want him to kiss her and take her to his bed and just let him seduce her into utter submission.

                “I will _kill_ the little shit if he so much as sits next to you,” Raditz rumbled from behind her, his eyes slipping shut at the smell of her arousal. Damned tail… he hadn’t even realized it was working its magic, and he stopped it immediately by wrapping it about her upper thigh. “Tell me you’re mine, Usa,” he ordered once more, albeit not as harshly. “ _Buh’tir, r’sha_ …”

                A gentle nip to her throat had her whimpering with pleasure, and Usagi couldn’t stop her hips from rocking back into his groin due to her tail-induced arousal. Gods, she was aching so badly for his touch that she felt like she was going to faint! “ _T’au, Raditz… buh’tir… t’uh au_ …”

                Those words— coming from _her_ mouth—had Raditz groaning and purring all at once, and while his beast was roaring for him to take her, he wouldn’t allow it. Not this time. “Waited so long to hear you say those words, _r’sha_ … and I’m sorry about the tail roofies. If you don’t want me to, I’ll go away… but if you do, I’ll take care of your needs.”

                “ _Please_ ,” she whimpered, rocking back once more in a quest for friction. Before she could blink, she’d been spun around and scooped into his arms, and everything went by in a blur of color as he used his Saiyan speed to take her to his bed in less than five seconds flat. And then she was being kissed deeply and thoroughly, breathing in a fresh dose of tail pheromones through her nose as she returned the slow, passionate kiss, her legs wrapping around his waist to tug him down to her tightly.

                Gods, she’d forgotten about this—this pure, undeniable chemistry that had always been between them, and Usagi was already tugging at his gi to bare him to her eager hands, curious to know if his body felt as good and hard as it had two centuries before.  

                A crash sounded downstairs just as Raditz had pushed her skirt up to her hips, and he would have totally ignored the disturbance had it not been accompanied by a scream he knew all too well. “Shit,” he breathed, knowing that the footsteps pounding up the stairs were headed in their direction.

                Fighting her way up through the haze of desire, Usagi focused the moment someone banged on the door, but when it was shoved open and Bardock gave them a panicked look, she righted her skirt and grabbed Raditz by his hair to yank him back.

                The Saiyan alpha had been ready to pounce on his nephew for his rudeness, and he was grateful to Usagi for restraining him long enough for him to get his beast under control. The other warrior clearly hadn’t interrupted for any other reason than an emergency, and was rattling something off so fast that Raditz couldn’t even understand him.

                Reiko solved the problem by shouting up the stairs. “USAGI! We need a healer right NOW!” She bellowed.

                That got both of them moving off of the bed, and Usagi was pushing her way past Bardock and was using her ki to soften her landing when she went right over the bannister and straight to the first floor. “RADITZ!” She yelled, knowing that he wasn’t far behind her as she shoved several crying toddlers away from the weeping, bleeding reincarnation of the Senshi of Mars. “It’s ok, Rei,” she whispered as she assessed the huge piece of glass sticking out of her little thigh.

                “Fuck,” Raditz gasped, moving to scoop up his niece. He stopped when Usagi grabbed his arm, though, and realized what a mistake it would be to move her, so he opted to take her little hand in his, his other hand running gently through her hair. “Can you heal her without removing the glass in one shot?”

                “Yeah, but someone with steady hands needs to draw it out slowly,” Usagi replied. Glancing around, her eyes settled on Bardock, whose hands were the only ones besides Raditz’s that weren’t shaking. “Come on, Bardy, I’m going to put my hand around the glass and I want you to draw it out as I do so.”

                “Just do it,” Raditz grunted when his nephew hesitated to come any closer to the blonde. “This is one time I won’t kill you for coming too close.”

                Looping her tail tightly around her uncle’s wrist, Rei whimpered when Usagi placed her hands around the glass, trying her best not to cry a lot. She was a warrior, damn it, and Saiyan warriors didn’t cry over injuries! “Sorry, Uncle Radu,” she said softly. “I smell Aunt Usa all over you.”

                Raditz chuckled at that and managed a tiny shrug. “I was so close to getting that fourth kiss, too, Rei. But don’t worry about it, I’ll hit her up for the debt next time.”

                “Wait, that kiss didn’t count?” Usagi asked distractedly as her hands began to glow with her healing warmth.

                “Nope. Not unless Uncle Radu says it does,” Rei replied, wincing when her oldest brother began to carefully draw out the shard in her thigh. Fat tears began to roll down her cheeks then, and the little firestarter paled as she watched the bloody glass slowly ease upwards.

                “No, baby girl, look at me,” Raditz purred gently, tilting her face upwards. “That’s it. You’re such a good, strong warrior, Rei. You’re doing so well and I’m so very proud of you.” He nodded and kissed her forehead when she managed a watery smile. “So, how did this little scratch happen?” He continued, intent on distracting her as Usagi continued to slowly, carefully heal her.

                “I was playing the melee with the horde… I’m sorry, _Ma_ … I know you told me not to do it inside,” she added in a slightly fearful whisper.

                “Rei, honey, I’m not going to punish you,” Reiko managed, giving the little hand she was holding a squeeze. “Just don’t do it again, okay? I don’t think my mirrors or my heart can take another accident like this. You’re lucky your Aunt Usa was visiting.”

                “Yeah, she was,” Usagi agreed quietly as the last of the glass was drawn from the wound and she healed it up. “It went through the femoral artery and the bone. But,” she added quickly when she sensed Reiko and Raditz stiffened at the news, “I took care of it all. There… all done. And Bardock, that was a great job you did,” she added with a pat to his shoulder and then a squeeze. “You’ve got a really steady hand, boy.”

                Carefully setting the bloody piece of mirror to the side, Bardock let out a rush of air he hadn’t realized he’d been holding, and nodded solemnly before drawing his little sister into his arms and hugging her tightly. “Glad you’re ok, firebug. No more melees in the house, understand me?” He looked at Usagi then. “Should I put her in bed?”

                “Yes,” all three of the other adults chorused immediately.

                “She didn’t lose a lot of blood because of the way you drew out the glass while I healed her leg,” Usagi added, “but it would be best that she rested for the remainder of the day, just in case.”

                “Aaaaw! But staying in bed is worse than punishment!” Rei protested. “Please, Ma! Can you just ground me or spank me!?”

                Reiko laughed at that and shook her head. “Yup, I think she’ll be just fine. Upstairs young lady—oh no, don’t you dare walk,” she said quickly when Rei moved to do so. “You let your brother carry you up.”

                “Come on, firebug, I’ll read you stories all evening,” Bardock offered. “Ma, the other brats looked pretty shocked… you wanna…?”

                “We’ll get them,” Raditz assured him as he turned to several toddlers and scooped them all up. “In fact, I think it’s cookie time!” He exclaimed happily. “Who wants cookies!?”

                The kids all seemed to brighten a bit at that, but Raditz knew he’d sufficiently distracted them when two toddlers dove into his untamable mane and began a game of hide and seek.  He gave Usagi a look of relief then, but when she stared back at him with those wide, blue, irresistible eyes, he couldn’t help but mouth a single word to her before turning towards the kitchen.

                Later.


	4. Chapter 4

“Heh… I did say ‘later,’ my angel, but I didn’t think you’d make it this damned easy for me to catch you alone,” Raditz purred as he entered the training room.

Usagi blushed as she turned to find him wearing his old armor and tried her very best not to gawk like a horny teenager at the extremely arousing sight. Gods, he cut an impressive, gorgeous figure in that armor! “Um… I was just going through some katas,” she replied hoarsely. The Queen of all Saiyans walked away then to her water bottle and took a long swig to clear her throat of that husky, aroused tone, then sighed as she turned to face him again. “Trunks and Veggie started going through them with me for the last five years, to help me clear my mind,” she explained.

She didn’t need to further explain what had happened five years ago, either. “Oh,” Raditz whispered, his face darkening with guilt. “I’m sorry, angel… I didn’t mean to interrupt.”

“No, you’re fine,” she replied softly. “If anything, I’d prefer a partner… Vegeta…” Usagi swallowed hard and that and shrugged. “Vegeta always did the katas with me, you know… and five years ago, when I’d stopped trying to kill myself, Trunks and Veggie—“ His low growl stopped her cold and she lifted a confused brow. “What’s wrong, Raditz?”

“You… you… **_what_**!?” He ground out roughly, his fists clenching as his beast took over. He had to tense every muscle to stop himself from stalking forward and pinning her to the wall for a heated interrogation, and even his eyes slipped shut to stop himself from even looking at her.

“I… Raditz…” Usagi sighed and rubbed the bridge of her nose as her cheeks grew hot with embarrassment. “You didn’t know,” she finally whispered. “Of… of course you didn’t, that was dumb of me to assume that you did, wasn’t it?”

“Damn right it was, Usagi. Because if I had known, I’d have been so far up your ass you would have had a hairball. I would have been on Earth within days, and I would have cussed you up one side and down the other and ripped you a new asshole while I was at it.”

“You didn’t have to,” Usagi replied, swallowing back tears as she recalled Vegeta’s speech to her about being a good mother to their children. “When Vegeta came back for a few days, he had some things to say. After that, I managed to pull my shit together, but it took five years before I could even think of Vegeta’s last request without crying.”

Raditz lost control of his beast then, unable to fight it for another moment, but rather than the reaction Raditz expected, he was holding her tightly and purring loudly in comfort for his mate. “Swear you’ll never do anything like that again,” he breathed into her hair. “ _Ch’j’ha_ ,” he added solemnly when she gave a tiny nod into his chest.

“I…” Usagi looked up to find his eyes a mixture of ebony and emerald, and sighed and nodded. His beast was utterly in control and was not going to take no for an answer; she’d dealt with way too many other Saiyans’ inner animals to even kid herself on the matter. “Fine, Raditz. I’ll do a blood pact if it’ll make you happy.”

Yanking a knife from her subspace, Usagi used a little fire from Mars’s starseed to sterilize it and knelt right there on one of the mats in the training room. “Might I ask why, though? I chose to live, Raddy, so I hardly think you need to worry about it ever happening again.”

“Because,” he replied firmly as he knelt in front of her, “I’ll die someday, too. I’m still young by Saiyan standards, but it _will_ happen. And I will not sit in Otherworld worrying about you, Usagi. In the event of my death, I want you to be happy. Not dead.”

“I can’t die, Raditz, so it’s a moot point. Trust me, I tried just about everything, and nothing worked. I am truly, eternally immortal. My only wish throughout the millennia was to find someone that wouldn’t die, either… you know how lonely I was when we first met.” She used the knife to cut her palm then, wincing as she sliced it open. “Here, hurry up, you know how quickly I heal.”

Without hesitating, Raditz slit open his own palm and immediately grasped hers, letting their blood mix together. “Swear it now, Usagi.”

“I’ll never try to kill myself again,” she promised softly. “Happy?”

“No,” he snorted, “I won’t be happy until I’ve bitten you, honestly. And I wouldn’t have cussed you out right away,” he amended. “I would have bitten you, like you did for Vegeta when he was mourning his first mate. The cussing would have come a little later.” Raditz smiled down at her as he felt her healing the cut on his palm. “You hungry, angel? Or would you like me to go away and leave you alone?”

“Don’t suppose I could have both, could I?” Usagi joked, leaning in to kiss his cheek when he cracked a little grin.

“Now, what fun would a dinner on the beach be without myself as entertainment?” Raditz purred. Watching her blink in surprise, that boyish grin got a little bigger, and he leaned in to whisper in her ear. “Just the two of us… no brats climbing up our asses—“

“Or your hair,” Usagi added.

Raditz chuckled in agreement and nibbled at the lobe of her ear before continuing, his tail swishing lightly without his knowledge. She had his beast climbing the walls, for sure. “Then we can go skinny dipping in the ocean afterwards, as soon as it’s dark?” He purred softly. “I remember how much you like water play, my angel.”

“Um… uh… I’ll think about it,” she choked out. “I’ll go inside and shower and get dressed?” She squeaked out when he began nuzzling her throat, drawing in deep breaths of her fertile scent, and she shivered when she realized that it was only to get even stronger the next day. Vegeta had told her before that the second and third days of her fertile time always made his mouth water, and Usagi was sure that Raditz would be no exception to the rule. _I’m going to have to consider oral sex, I’m sure._ _If not tonight, then definitely tomorrow._

“Go clean up, beautiful,” Raditz chuckled as he scented her light arousal mixing in with the intoxicating aroma of her going into heat. “I probably should too… I’ll use the showers down here, though. Meet me outside in a half-hour?”

Usagi blushed at the naked desire in his eyes and pretty much scurried away before she could do or say something stupid, and Raditz couldn’t keep the sappy, dreamy smile off of his face as he watched her go.

#########################

Usagi slipped back into the training room silently to grab her sweater, and had every intention of leaving until she heard the shower starting up towards the very back. The sound of it made her shiver; just the mere thought of Raditz naked under all of that hot water and…

Just a peek.

 _That’s all_ , she told herself over and over as her legs carried her further into the building with a mind of their own. _Just a quick peek and I’ll sneak back out._

                He was just as beautiful as she remembered, his body littered with scars and his hair weighted to his knees from the water and the soap he was working into it. Her fingers itched at the memory of helping him wash that mane lifetimes ago, and when he began to lather up the rest of his body she could practically feel that warm, tanned skin sliding beneath her hands. _Ok, that’s enough,_ she mentally groaned, pinching the bridge of her nose at a wave of sexual desire for the nude man just around the corner.

                Usagi was turning to go when she heard him emit a soft sound of mixed pleasure and frustration and he muttered something in what sounded like an annoyed tone. She resumed her hiding spot and looked again, her eyes widening at the sight of him rock hard and ready to go.

                “Damn it,” he whispered, “not again… damn thing can’t seem to stay down since she arrived.” Raditz let out a long, depressed sigh as he leaned back against the shower wall and closed his eyes. “After this, you and I are going to have a long conversation, Bastard,” he snorted aloud, clearly speaking with his beast. “I can’t very well court her if you’re not going to back off for five minutes. Yeah, yeah, trust me… I know, I want her just as bad, too.”

With a heavy sigh directed towards his more primal side, Raditz wrapped his tail around his cock and began to stroke it slowly. “Fine, whatever. Let’s just get this out of the way… fifth time today… I swear it’s a new record… and gods, I can almost _smell_ her,” he breathed as he closed his eyes and began to purr with pleasure.

                Usagi couldn’t help but practically drool at the sight as her cheeks flushed in slight embarrassment. Not that she hadn’t seen him naked and hard before, but the last time she’d seen his face contorted in such pleasure it had been with him between her thighs and not wrapped in his own tail. She willed herself to leave yet again, but just as she was about to move he began to moan softly in the common tongue.

                “Yes… that’s it, my angel… take all of me…” Raditz couldn’t stop purring as he pictured her beneath him, her eyes smoky with desire as he began to move inside of her in his little fantasy. “I love you so much, angel… mmm… come for me, baby…” He could hear her moaning his name then, could almost feel her soft hands clutching at his back and her hips rocking into his own. And then the Usagi in his mind cried out softly, arching into him as she squeezed his cock tightly. “That’s it… you feel so good, my angel… **_my_** Usa…” His tail began to convulse around him then as it moved a little faster, and Raditz couldn’t help but growl as his fantasy angel began to whimper and cling to him desperately as she closed in on another climax.  “Gods _yes_ … again, baby… I want you to come for me again… **_mine_** … tell me you’re _mine_ …”

                She watched him tremble as he whispered her name once more and came, his muscles tightening in reaction for several seconds before he sagged against the tiles behind him. _That is arguably the most erotic thing I’ve ever seen and heard._ Yet again she shifted her feet to leave, but his head tilted back and she heard him speak again.

                “Please… I know you’re probably all getting tired of hearing my prayers… but if any of you gods are listening, help me out, here. Please… please just let her surrender to me… I swear on my tail to do everything to make your princess—your queen— happy, to give her everything she deserves… just please let her be mine again…”

############################

                Usagi blushed when Raditz came out of the front door and found her waiting, dressed simply in a sundress that matched her eyes, her feet bare in the sand. “You alright, angel?” Raditz asked, but when he got a little closer he damned near melted at the scent of her heat… and a considerable amount of arousal mixed in. “Gods, Usa… how I’m going to keep it in check this evening is beyond me,” he sighed.

                “Huh? Wha… um… did I do something wrong?” She squeaked out when he jerked her into his arms and began to lavish her throat with little nips and kisses.

                “You’re extremely horny, woman,” he snorted into the creamy flesh. “Tell me, my angel… just what were you thinking about in the shower…? And why didn’t you take care of it before our little date?”

                _The same thing that you were_ , she thought. _Only I didn’t get myself off as I should have._ Desperately trying to think of an answer, Usagi just blurted out the first thing that came to mind. “I… I thought you might be upset if I took matters into my own hands,” she replied in a nervous whisper. “I… um… I didn’t want to upset you, that’s all. We can take a rain check if you want, Raditz.”

                “Fuck no,” he chuckled, pulling back a little to kiss her on the lips. “We’re going on this date, beautiful… and then I’m going to get you off the very moment we’re completely alone,” he purred.

                Yup. She was definitely going to have to consider oral if she went through with this date.

##################################

                The back door slammed open forcefully, and Turles merely lifted a brow from his place at the table when Raditz stormed in, his hair blonde and his eyes green, his tail thrashing about angrily. “Rough night?” He drawled, automatically extending his ever-present bottle of liquor.

                His older brother snatched it up and drained it dry before his beast made him circle once, hoping to find an opponent that he could take his anger out on, but finding none he plopped down in a kitchen chair and thumped his forehead into the table.

                “Something you said… or something someone else said?” Turles asked curiously. Noting the lack of blood on his brother’s clothing, Turles sighed and yanked a fresh bottle of strong rum from the cabinet behind him, cracked it open, and slid it across the table.

                Other than his hand flashing upwards to catch the bottle, Raditz didn’t move an inch. “Something you said,” Turles ventured.

                Lifting his head only to chug half the fifth of alcohol, Raditz finally handed it back and let his forehead fall to the table once more, his hair melting from gold to ebony. “I made her cry,” he whispered. “Didn’t even… didn’t even _mean_ to…”

                Turles ran his hand through his hair when he heard the sniffle and the tears in Raditz’s voice, and came around the table to sit next to him and just silently sling a comforting arm over his shoulder. “You reminded her of him?” He inquired once he was fairly sure Raditz would be able to answer without crying.

                “Yeah,” he choked out. “Told her… told her I was hers… as much as she was mine. At… at first she smiled, but then…” Raditz couldn’t even finish the sentence without breaking down, so he swallowed and just shook his head. “She started tearing up, then she was crying hard, then she teleported out before I could stop her.”

                “She’s upstairs, Raddy. Asleep in bed. I sensed her ki arrive about an hour ago and assumed that maybe something had gone wrong when you didn’t come home with her.” Turles blinked in surprise when his brother rose and grabbed a blanket off the loveseat in the adjoining sitting room before heading to the couch. “Oh hell no, Rad. You march your ass upstairs and climb into bed with her. Right now,” Turles ordered firmly.

                For the millionth time in the last two hundred years, Turles watched his brother look away, his eyes distant and sad, and he did the one thing he couldn’t do during those two centuries. He punched Raditz in the stomach and glared up at him sternly when his brother fought for the air that had just been knocked out of him. “I haven’t done that the entire time I watched you mope and pine for her, Raditz, but I will be damned if I stand here and watch you _give up_ when she’s just upstairs!”

                “But… but I made her cry, Turley,” Raditz replied breathily, shaking his head slowly.

                “You sat on the side and let her mourn. She came to you when that mourning was through. So you’re going to go upstairs, strip to your skin, and snuggle in next to her. And if she tries to leave—because you know she won’t ask you to—you apologize for bringing up bad memories and insist that she stays. And if she still won’t stay in the bed, you let out your beast and pin her to you and tell her she’s either sleeping with you or not at all. Understand me?”

                “Because… I’m making a point that I won’t be deterred?” Raditz guessed.

                “Because you’re a MAN, damn it. So march your furry, manly ass upstairs, and you snuggle the FUCK out of her right now!” Turles barked, his hand snapping up to point towards the stairs.

                That last bit made Raditz crack a smile and he snorted as he followed his little brother’s orders. “Yeah… because **_real_** men snuggle,” he snickered. He was satisfied to hear Turles growl a little, but Raditz knew when his brother was trying not to laugh and inwardly chuckled as he went up the stairs. But his good humor fled when he entered his room and smelled the salt of tears mixed in with Usagi’s natural scent and her heat, which was getting even stronger with every passing minute.

                Thankfully, his beast was far more concerned with the tears than anything else, and Raditz was purring comfort for her before he even slipped beneath the cool sheets and spooned her from behind, one strong arm encircling her waist along with his tail. “I’m sorry, my angel,” he breathed into her hair as he kissed her shoulder.

                “You didn’t mean to make me cry, Raditz,” he heard in reply, her voice so soft that he barely even caught it. “I’ll um… I’ll take the couch, you can—“

                “I’ll be damned,” he growled. Heh, with the scent of her heat and her tears in the air, Raditz didn’t even have to puff himself up with Turles’s advice to find the courage to refuse her any space from him. The time for space was _over_ , damn it, he’d waited two centuries and had been faithful the moment she was single! And while he’d been faithful, he’d given her ample fucking space until she’d come to him! “You’re my mate and you belong in my bed, Usagi. Now close your eyes and sleep.”

                Too worn out to argue with him, Usagi sighed and leaned into his embrace, her eyes slipping shut as she drew in his alluring scent.

##############################

                “Morning, angel,” Raditz whispered when she stirred against his chest, unable to stop the sappy smile on his face when she cracked her eyes open and looked up at him sleepily.

                Usagi let her eyes slip shut once more as she felt one of his calloused hands caressing her face and just relaxed into him, enjoying his warmth. “Morning,” she mumbled. “I’m sorry,” she added after a few beats of silence. “I wasn’t mad at you, Raditz.”

                “I know, angel. I’m sorry, too—for upsetting you. But… I meant what I said,” he added gently as he stroked some of her slightly tangled hair out of her eyes. “ _T’au, ve’sh m’yo_.”

                Willing herself not to cry again as she heard the words that Vegeta had always reminded her of whenever they were alone, Usagi just nodded, and as an afterthought, she drew his mouth down to hers. “ _D’in m’yo, ge. Au m’yo… m’eh t’au_.”

                Raditz knew it was supposed to be a touching moment, but his beast was having other ideas as it purred happily and he slid his tail up her inner thigh. “Sorry, I’d have it under better control if you weren’t in heat _, r’sha_.”

                Surprisingly amused, Usagi just snorted and rolled her eyes. “Typical Saiyan male. So, what does it smell like to you? For Vegeta, it was cheesecake, and Trunks said that Mina used to smell like fudge to him whenever she was in heat.”

                “Cookies,” Raditz said without hesitation. “You smell like chocolate chip cookies with a little extra vanilla, just how I like them. Heh… don’t suppose you’d let me get a taste?” He asked hopefully, waggling his eyebrows.

                “Maybe… maybe we can try again tonight,” Usagi said slowly. “Right now, I need a shower, and then I was going to hit the training room.” She blushed a little at the thought of what she’d seen in the training room only yesterday and knew that she needed to get out of the bed before she did something that was going to wind up getting her laid. _Not like you don’t want it, though,_ she sighed privately as she tried to keep her eyes and hands from roaming him; from the very moment she’d awoke, she’d been fighting that very urge.

                Raditz knew what she was thinking just by the way her fingers were occasionally twitching against his bare skin, and he purred and nuzzled her once before sliding out of bed and away from temptation. She hadn’t said ‘no’ and had even said she’d try that night, so he was going to be patient and let her come to him on her terms. “So… what would you like to do tonight, my angel?” He asked nonchalantly… as if he wasn’t totally naked and she wasn’t staring at his morning wood with a mixed look of awe and desire. “We never did get to the skinny dipping part.”

                Usagi blushed at that but couldn’t help but lick her lips. Before Raditz had reminded her so strongly of Vegeta, they’d been on the beach, but hadn’t stripped down yet. No… they’d been a bit too busy making out with her straddling his waist, and even though he’d only been petting her above her clothing, she’d been ready to just tell him to take her to bed.

                “Or should we just stay in, r’sha?” Raditz asked knowingly. “Take a peek in my nightstand and tell me which you’d rather do.”

                Usagi giggled, but did as she was told. “I’m almost afraid to look,” she mumbled as she rolled towards the piece of furniture and slid open the drawer. The sight of massage oils and the very thought of sliding around all covered in them had her turning bright red and a heat pooling low in her belly, and Usagi swallowed hard before answering. “Let’s, um… just play it by ear?” She suggested a little nervously.

                “Whichever you prefer, my queen,” Raditz teased.

                “Won’t all that get in your hair?” Usagi asked suddenly.

                “Eh, not any worse than having it full of kids… you know, I found in a chicken in there once,” Raditz added thoughtfully. “Wasn’t the strangest thing I’ve found, but it was awfully surprising.”

                “What, were there leftovers from supper or something?” She asked curiously as she rolled out of the bed.

                “Nope, I came back from the market and it was alive. Come on, angel,” he added, stepping forward to yank her gown over her head. When she just froze in surprise he used that to his advantage and yanked her panties down as well, silently telling his beast to just be patient and wait for that night. If he was a gentleman and played his hand just right, he’d be mated to her within a couple of days. “Need help washing my hair. I’ll wash yours in exchange,” he offered, carrying her to and setting her down in the shower stall before she could protest.

                “But—but—“

                “Oh come on, baby. It’s not like we haven’t seen each other naked,” he chuckled, amazed at how well-behaved his beast was being at that very moment. Even if that same beast had control of his eyes and was using them to roam her body unabashedly.

                Blushing brightly, Usagi stayed in the shower when he cut on the water; she knew that look in his eyes all too well, and while she knew he wouldn’t try anything—he probably wouldn’t, anyway—he was definitely hell bent on getting an eyeful. “You first,” she managed in a strangled tone the moment he was soaked down and had moved for her to step into the spray and wet her own hair. “Gimme that mop of yours,” she added in a slightly stronger voice.

                “Watch out for chickens,” Raditz chuckled. “The kids had quite the adventure in there, you know. They were hunting down eggs for hours… apparently that chicken had been nesting for about a week, judging by the amount of eggs.”

                “Ew! Raditz, didn’t you smell the poop!? I mean, that chicken had to shit sometime, right!?” She exclaimed as she started soaping him up with handfuls of shampoo. When he suddenly went a little stiff, Usagi knew she wasn’t going to like the response, but she kept quiet.

                “I was… kinda on a bit of a bender at the time,” he admitted sullenly. “Turles found me and brought me back to make me eat something and wash up.” Knowing what her next question would be, he just continued. “It was over a hundred years ago.”

                Oh… that must have been during the time Reiko had referred to on her first night there, when Raditz had cried on her shoulder for hours. “I’m sorry, Raditz,” she whispered as she continued to soap up his hair. “I should have visited or something.”

                “Angel… we’ve both been through some bad shit, so don’t be sorry. It was my own cowardice that brought about my pain and a two hundred year wait for you. And a visit from you would have only made it worse unless you would have been willing to leave Vegeta. And since I know that would have never happened, it’s pointless to dwell on could-have-beens… especially when we have each other now.” He turned then and kissed her gently. “I have you now, angel… and I’ll be the happiest man in the universe when you let me claim you, so I’m not even going to sweat the past anymore.”

                Raditz was pleasantly surprised when she jerked him down and kissed him soundly I response, and he was purring happily when she finally drew away. “I’ll try and do the same, Raditz,” Usagi whispered.

                “Good to hear, angel,” he sighed into her wet hair as he forced his hands to stay at her waist. “Now let’s hurry up and wash your hair before my beast decides that it wants to pin you to the wall.”

##############################

                “What’s so funny?” Reiko asked as Usagi and Raditz entered the kitchen, the former of the two laughing as the latter wore a broad grin.

                “We’re discussing all the things that have gotten trapped in his hair!” Usagi giggled.

                Reiko set down the frying pan upon hearing that and snorted. “Ask him about the time he came home from a brothel about fifty years ago and Junior found a dildo nested in there. It was interesting, giving the talk to a five year old.”

                “Oh, come on!” Raditz protested, giving his sister in law a brotherly hug while Usagi laughed so hard that she had to sit down. “You know it wasn’t mine, Reiko!”

                “Uh-huh. Sure it wasn’t, Raddy,” she replied smoothly, having been through this discussion with him several times over the decades.

                “Seriously, Reiko! Why in the gods’ names would I need a dildo to pleasure a woman with when my cock is twice that size!?” He continued adamantly.

                “Because you can’t fuck yourself?” Usagi asked innocently, her face perfectly deadpan when Reiko and Raditz just turned and gaped at her.

                “That’s it, it’s decided. She’s perfect for you,” Reiko said with a smug smile as she turned back to fixing enough breakfast to feed the horde.


	5. Chapter 5

“Looking for Uncle Raditz?” Tarra asked knowingly, giving Usagi a little wink when the blonde looked in wearing a hunted expression.

                “No, I was just wondering if there was somewhere I could take a nap without being ambushed? Raditz went upstairs a while ago, and I never did see or sense him coming back down the stairs,” she admitted with a shrug. “He’s stalking me,” she admitted with a hiss of a whisper.

                Usagi had been avoiding him since an incident in the living room only a few hours ago, where Raditz had nearly bitten her after sharing just a simple kiss. Now she was tired from all the sparring she’d done with Turles out on the beach, and she desperately wanted to rest just for an hour without worrying about Raditz’s beast trying to take advantage.

                Unbeknownst to her, Turles had worked her so hard because he knew she was running from his brother, and he figured that getting her exhausted would be the likeliest method of getting her to stay put long enough for Raditz to corner her. And Tarra, Reiko and Rei had also been planning little arrangements to get them in the same room, too.

                They just hoped that it was a _private_ room… no one wanted the littler kids scarred for life once Raditz caught a fresh whiff of how strong her heat was becoming.

                “Oh, I saw him go out a little while ago with Junior,” Tarra informed her with a shrug, her lips twitching up in a smile when Usa thanked her and left the room, her footfalls echoing through the living room and up the stairs.

                “You’re such a bad liar, Tarra,” Rei giggled softly from the laundry room.

                “Oh, like you wouldn’t have lied, too? You want to hook those two up just as badly as I do.”

##############################

                Usagi got an eyeful when she walked into Raditz’s room to change and crash, unable to look away from his totally nude, extremely muscular physique, despite the knowledge that the sight was turning her on and filling the room with the scent of it.

_Dear gods, I am so screwed!_

_Literally!_

“Shit, sorry!” She squeaked out after a moment of staring, high-tailing it for the bathroom. “I swear, I’ve never wanted to kill the females in this family quite so badly!” She snapped out once she was behind the closed door.

                Raditz chuckled at that as he pulled on the underwear-looking spandex he usually wore with his armor, his tail swishing happily at the scent of her, his beast already purring at the prospect of pouncing on his evasive little rabbit. “Let me guess… one of them told you I was somewhere else and not up here changing?”

                “Bingo,” she sighed.

                “Mmm… and who do I owe a debt of gratitude, angel? Because right now I can only think of what you’re going to taste like.”

“It was Tarra; she said you were with Junior. Between all of them I think I’m fucked,” she whined as she scoped out the window and wondered if she could slip out of it quickly.

                “If I have my way, you are,” he chuckled, opening the door and snagging her with his tail the moment she bolted for the only escape route. “Though I guarantee you that it won’t be fucking by any definition of the word,” he added in a seductive whisper, his breath tickling her throat. “I’m sure you know what I’d prefer to do.”

                Usagi visibly swallowed and backed up a step when he began to back them up, leading them to the bed. “Raditz… I, um… we’d better not… didn’t I say maybe tonight that we could—“

                “Hush,” he purred, “it’s nearly sunset anyway… and I won’t keep you too long.”

                “Keep me?” She squeaked out.

                “Mmhmm… I believe you _still_ owe me number four, my angel. And a debt is a debt,” he added with a little possessive growl. With that he yanked her tightly to him, but when she leaned in he pulled his head back and shook it. “Not in the bathroom, silly woman. Unless you’d prefer the shower? But we won’t just be washing our hair this time.” Her blush answered him and he lifted her and waited for her legs to encircle his waist before turning and finding himself caught between taking her to the bed or the couch. He decided on the latter; he’d definitely get less resistance outside of the bed, since that particular piece of furniture would only imply that he thought he might get some.

                Keeping her legs around his waist, Usagi blushed as she felt him twitching against her panties, but he held her fast when she tried to get out of his lap as he sat down. “Raddy… we probably shouldn’t…” She was about to form another protest when his lips brushed over hers lightly, sending a shiver of desire right through her, and she leaned forward, instantly deepening the kiss with a parting of her lips and a stroke of her tongue over his.

                Raditz immediately groaned, instantly hardening against her, thanking the gods and mentally cursing at the same time over the fact that she was wearing a skirt and it was draped over their legs, making her panties and his thin spandex the only two things separating their sexes. And the scent of cookies was perfuming the air, the smell get heavier as she grew aroused and it mixed in with the scent of her heat… and it was making his beast absolutely insane. “Need you,” he rasped as he broke away just long enough to get the words out, then dove back in for another taste of her sweetness.

                Usagi heard a whimper escape her own throat and barely managed to stop them when he began to grind his arousal into her core, and when she broke away they were both panting for air and trembling as they ached for more.  “Raditz… we… not yet,” she gasped out. “I’m not ready… tonight… I thought…”

                “I… I know, angel… but I… _gods_ , I’ve waited so _long_ for you,” Raditz moaned as she shifted a little and he felt every bit of movement in his groin. “Please, my love… _please_ … I’m begging you. I’m actually begging… **_please_** let me make love to you. Just the thought of it is making my beast insane… and I don’t mean it as a metaphor or as an exaggeration. I’ve always kept him well chained, you know this, angel… but since yesterday he’s been breaking free, fraying the leash, and I don’t think I can hold him back much longer.” He licked his lips then, not totally sure if he could stop himself from seducing the hell out of her if she said no… but that was just a risk he was going to have to take. “Please,” he breathed once more against her lips. “I need to be inside of you so badly.”

                “Raditz, I…” Usagi closed her eyes and trembled, arching slightly when she felt his tail snake under her skirt and press into her folds through her underwear. _Dear gods, I want him so badly that I’d be stupid not to just…_ “You can’t mark me,” she finally whispered, her eyes cracking open to see the raw desire in his. “Just… just sex. This one time, just to clear the air, right?”

“No strings,” he promised. He knew she’d been without almost as long as he had, and he knew without a doubt that she was remembering what he was like in bed, how skillfully he could make her come over and over again. “I won’t bite you,” he whispered as he held her close with his tail and rocked his hips upwards once. “Just this one time… until you make a decision,” he promised.  “Just a taste of what I could have had if I wasn’t such a fucking coward all those years ago.”

                “Raditz—“ Usagi was silenced with his fingers at her lips, and she swallowed as she fought the urge to take one of them in her mouth and suck on it.

                “No, angel. You talk too damned much. If you want me, just kiss me,” he breathed as he brushed his nose over hers and removed his hand from her mouth. “I’ll take care of the rest… you won’t have to do a thing but enjoy me, angel.” His eyes rolled back when she closed the gap, kissing him passionately as her hands threaded through his hair and she ground down on his erection and moaned into his mouth. He let his beast totally loose then with the stipulation that he not bite her while he mated her, but when he felt her tugging at his spandex he shook his head. “Bed,” he groaned between kisses, lifting her smoothly before he lost his last ounce of self-control and took her right there on the couch or bent her back onto the floor. “Do this… right…”

                He couldn’t help himself as he took her to his bed and came down on top of her; not wanting to break the slow dancing of their tongues, he simply tore her shirt and bra right off before giving her skirt and panties the same rough treatment, followed by his own spandex covering. Raditz had never felt so out of control in his life with a woman before; usually he touched and pleased and teased before taking his own pleasure, but right then he was growling and purring and moaning all at once as she wrapped her legs around his waist and pulled him down in a clear message that she didn’t want to wait, either.

                Usagi winced as he began to fill her; so long without a man had made her very unused to a Saiyan invasion and even two hundred years with her first mate had never gotten  her totally accustomed to how huge they all were, how forceful they could be when extreme ly aroused. But she made a choked noise of pleasure as ecstasy mixed with the pain when he drove for  ward and locked himself inside of her to the hilt, her nails digging into his hips and the kiss growing fo rceful as she arched into him for more.  

                With a low possessive growl, Raditz flexed his hips once, withdrawing, and when he drove forward again he was filled with an unexpected euphoria. Liquid fire started low in his belly and e8ploded within him, making him see white, wiping all conscious thought from his mind for a full two seconds before he groaned in embarrassment and broke the kiss, slumping on top of her. “Fuuuuuck.”

                Holy… had Raditz really just…? “It’s ok,” Usagi whispered shakily, still burning up with need, her body aching to feel him hard and moving inside of her. “It’s been awhile for you… and I know that to you, ten years is like ten lifetimes,” she added with a little sigh. “I can wait, Raddy.”

                “The **_hell_**!” He grunted, pinning her in place when she tried to move. “Woman, today… I’m going to make you fall in love with me again if it fucking kills me,” he added with a sexy growl as he felt his cock recover and harden once more, already filling her gradually.

                “You said one time, Raddy,” Usagi protested in a whisper, despite the moan that was threatening to leave her mouth at the feel of him giving her one gentle test thrust.

                “This **_is_** one time,” he snorted. “That… _that_ was just a… a **_hiccup_**.” With a hint of the seductive skill he’d used on her long ago, he bent down and nibbled at her lower lip before smoothing over the hurt with his tongue. “Tell me, angel… do you really want me to stop? I meant it, you know… when I said I’d do anything for you… and if you tell me to stop, I will… but if you order me to love you without stopping until I’ve satisfied you a hundred times, I’ll do it even if it winds up killing me.”

                “Once is more than enough,” she whispered, moving her hips in surrender and permission.

                “And how do you want me, angel? Name it and it’s yours.”

                Usagi licked her lips slowly before leaning up to nip at his throat. Gods… she knew what she wanted from him, but to voice it…

                “You can tell me, my love. You have but to ask and I’ll gladly give you everything that I am,” Raditz sighed in her ear.

                “You really still love me?” She asked shakily, her voice so low that he barely heard her. When he nodded into her hair and she felt it through her empathy, she caressed the base of his tail tenderly. “I want to feel it, Raditz…”

                “Anything, _r’sha_ … it’s all I’ve wanted, you know… to make love to you like this…” He flexed his hips then, setting a slow, steady rhythm that immediately had her clutching at his back and moaning his name. “…to show you what you mean to me…” Raditz felt her tighten slightly and groaned in response, knowing that she was close to feeling the ecstasy he’d just experienced. “…come for me, my angel… I love you so much…”

                “Feels so good,” she whimpered, cutting half-moon marks into his skin as his tail began to slowly massage her clit. And then she felt his teeth at her shoulder and her eyes rolled back as she saw white, his name erupting from her lips in a strangled voice. “ _Raditz_ …” And the orgasm didn’t stop as she thought it would—not right away, at least. There was a second one right behind it as he purred loudly and began to vibrate inside of her, his tail stroking her bud harder and faster to draw it out, causing that choked moan to become a loud cry of rapture.

                And then he was kissing her again, his lips so ravenous and passionate that her own were bruising a little from the force of it. But no matter how brutally Saiyan that kiss was, his hips continued that slow, tender pace as Raditz concentrated on showing her his love for her with his body, showing her just how she made him feel. Just the thought of her made him soften, made him feel weak and gentle, and since she’d asked for it, he was going to convey to her every little nuance of exactly what her scent—let alone her presence—did to his very soul. “Tell me you’re mine, _r’sha_ ,” he breathed in her ear as she tightened a third time and moaned his name deliriously.

                Usagi was coming down from her high when she answered, and her common sense broke through enough before she declared herself to be his in _every_ way. “All day…” She gasped when his teeth raked over her shoulder a second time. “I’m yours all day long, Raddy…”

                He bit back a frustrated growl at that carefully worded answer, recalling how she’d said much the same thing the last time he’d had her over two hundred years ago. But he tried to see the silver lining—he’d apparently graduated from “one time” to “all day,” so he needed to take what he could get and hope that a single day would draw out into two, three, and then hopefully even more.

                ##############################

                “I hear sex noises!” Tarra cried triumphantly as she strode into the kitchen where her mother and father were preparing supper. “I suggest we get the _br’atu_ out of the house so that they’re not interrupted, what do you guys think?”

                Turles grinned and nodded, tossing his eldest daughter a wink. “You and your mate think you can handle the horde for a couple of nights?”

                “Junior and Bardock have already volunteered to help, so yup! Looks like the Gray Pube Club’s gonna have the house all to themselves,” she quipped.

                “We’re not _that_ old,” Reiko snorted as she started packing supper into sealed bowls and stacking them in bags since the kids were going to be taking their supper with them. “Mine are still quite black, thank you… as are your father’s. But I appreciate the thought,” she added. “It’s been a long, long time since your father and I have had some real alone time.”

                “Oh, I know. The last time that happened, you got pregnant with Rei!” Turles laughed before giving his mate a little nip to the shoulder. A yelp from upstairs made him stop and grin, and he looked up at the ceiling. “Fuck her harder, Raddy!”

                “Working on it!” Raditz’s voice replied, echoing down the stairs and through the living room. “And shut up! Usa says you’re killing the mood!” He added loudly before they heard a feminine giggle, followed by a soft moan of surrender.

                “Bout damned time,” Turles whispered solemnly. “Gods, I pray she lets him mark her.”

                “Give them time, Turles,” Reiko said gently. “You remember how long it took me to let you mark me? After the initial ass-kicking for showing up after how many years of leaving me alone?”

                “And then the angry sex. Then the makeup sex?” Turles purred, feeling his beastie get a little aroused at the thought of his return to Althea just to find her as Usagi had suggested two hundred years ago.

                “Ew,” Tarra interjected. “Please, spare my virgin ears from stories about old people having sex. I can’t bear the thought of wrinkly balls and gray hair.”

                “It’s still black!” Turles snapped before whacking her upside the head with his tail, which only got him a mischevious grin from his oldest and a giggle from his wife. “And they’re not wrinkled,” he added with what was half-pout, half-indignation. “Ye gods, girl, I’m not even three-fifty yet! Now go and get the kids before I bend you over my knee and whoop your little ass like you’re six again!”

                ##############################

                Raditz groaned as he finally took his pleasure two hours later, his entire form trembling as he filled her with his essence and fell into the best orgasm of his life, finally collapsing on top of her in a sweaty, satisfied heap. “More?” he finally managed after nearly fifteen minutes of just purring and basking in the afterglow.

                “My body is ready,” Usagi joked softly, ruffling her fingers through the base of his tail. Gods, at that very moment she couldn’t even remember WHY she’d been resisting this since she’d arrived; he felt so good, so right, and the way he was purring loudly had her more relaxed than she’d been since Vegeta’s three day shore leave from death. _I hope you’re happy,_ she chuckled mentally, wondering if Vegeta would even hear her.

                “What’s so funny?” Raditz purred, nipping at her shoulder.

                “The fact that I can actually think about Vegeta and laugh,” she giggled. “He must be awfully fucking smug up in Otherworld right now.”

                “HEY!” Raditz barked at the ceiling. “You’d better not be watching us! This ain’t no free show!”

                Usagi giggled uncontrollably at that and shook her head emphatically. “No, when he visited and we talked about you on the last full day, he assured me that ‘I will not be watching that warrior take my woman… but I _will_ continue to watch your gorgeous naked ass in the shower,’” she quoted, imitating Vegeta’s rough voice. “Oh, and he also told me to tell you that he, for once, fucked the hell out of _your_ woman,” she added with a little grin.

                “Huh?”

                “When he returned to knock some sense into me,” she explained with a hint of sadness to her voice. “I was sitting and thinking about you, playing with the hair you’d given me, and when Vegeta saw it he was little annoyed… I hadn’t known about the blood pact. So Vegeta made it a point to explain and then proceeded to throw me on the bed just so he could one-up the House of Bardock.”

                Despite a little wave of jealousy, Raditz actually laughed his ass off at that and nipped at her shoulder. “I suppose that makes us even for the incident when you visited to grocery shop,” he chuckled.

                “Oh no,” Usagi replied wryly, “I said ‘one-up.’ That thing with you and me was what? Maybe twelve hours and two sessions? Vegeta and I still had a full twenty-four—mmmph!”

                Raditz rolled his eyes at that as he covered her mouth with his hand. “That’s quite enough, woman,” he snorted. He removed his hand and replaced it with his lips when her eyes just gazed up at him tenderly, and he knew without a doubt that she was falling for him all over again, remembering why she’d been in love with him in the first place. “Whenever you feel ready, r’sha,” he whispered between kisses, “I’ll gladly bury my teeth in your shoulder.”

                Usagi was almost tempted to let him, but she knew she just wasn’t ready for that yet. She was falling again, but she wasn’t fully in love with him… but as soon as she was, she’d be ready for the mark. “Soon, ok?” She whispered.

                “Mmhmm,” he replied absently as he eyes followed the trail his fingers and tail were making towards the juncture of her thighs. There wasn’t a worry in his head that she’d ask him to mark her soon, and Raditz decided he wasn’t even going to sweat it anymore. Her voice may have said she was his ‘all day,’ but her body had screamed ‘forever’ during the last two hours… and he had every intention of letting his beast hear that cry again in just a minute.

                “Raddy… what are you doing?” Usagi purred as she felt his tail slowly enter her and his fingers began to skillfully massage her clit.

                “You said ‘my body is ready,’” he replied smoothly. “Were you lying, _r’sha_?”

                “Oh, I wasn’t, but I didn’t think you’d be quite ready to go yet.” Usagi sighed with pleasure when his mouth trailed lightly over her throat, pausing only to feather over a spot that always made her moan. But when his teeth raked over her shoulder, she just barely managed to stop him in time, shaking her head slightly when he looked at her pleadingly. “Not today, Raditz… twenty-four hours, ok?” She whispered as she tried to focus through the haze of pleasure running through her.

                “And then?” He asked seriously as he moved his tail harder and deeper, keeping the touch of his fingers light and teasing. “Don’t you dare tell me you’re going home, Usa. I’m not going to be some fling for you, some lay just to satisfy your needs,” his beast whispered warningly.

                Trying her damnedest not to come, Usagi managed a shake of her head as she moaned his name softly and arched into him for more. “Just… I’ll just… dear gods, Raditz, are we really having this conversation _now_?” She whined.

                “Would you like me to stop so we can have it?” He inquired curiously, knowing he’d get pure honesty from her if her brain could hardly function past what he was doing to her. “Will you have me as your mate, Usagi. I want to know. Right now.”

                “Yes,” she whimpered, her hands burying in his mane to jerk him down for a kiss, her tongue immediately dancing with his as she moaned her climax into his mouth and her body clamped down on his tail. “Soon,” she added gently once she’d released his lips. “If I had a tail to swear it on, Raditz, I would. _Soon_.”


	6. Chapter 6

                “You sure you want to do this on the full moon, angel?” Raditz asked carefully when she toed off her sandals and stepped into the warm ocean. “I mean… I know it hasn’t risen yet, but still…”

                Usagi couldn’t stop licking her lips in anticipation as she tugged at the tie around her neck that held her sundress in place; one hard yank would send it dropping to the sand… and she hadn’t bothered wearing any undergarments… since he would likely wind up shredding them, anyway. “Raddy… the sun’s down, and you’ve got two hours left of playtime with your favorite toy. Are you telling me that you don’t want me to take off this dress? You actually, for once in your life, _don’t_ want to know what color panties I’m wearing?”

                “Well… when you put it like that,” Raditz purred as he hastily unbuttoned his own shirt and tossed it on top of her shoes, adding his own to the pile before shedding his pants. “Like my underwear?” He drawled as he stepped a little closer, his beast purring its head off with delight when she gave him a mischevious smile.

                “Yup. In fact…” One tug sent her sundress to pooling around her ankles. “…we match.”

                He was on her in a split second, knocking her into the deeper water, breathing into her as he kissed her since he knew she hadn’t had a moment to take a breath. Raditz only let her come up to breathe after a long and thorough kiss and grinned sheepishly when she gave him the stink eye and gasped for air. “What, my angel? What did you expect out of me after you showed me my favorite shade of panties?”

                Usagi giggled at that and nodded, humming softly with pleasure when he tugged her out a little further and began licking droplets of water from her throat and the tops of her breasts, his arousal pressing intimately against her inner thigh. She didn’t need any coercion to wrap her legs around his waist, but when he didn’t enter her immediately she gave a little growl of frustration and actually nipped at his shoulder.

                Wondering if she’d actually meant to do that or if the action had been a slip of her subconscious, Raditz returned it— slowly, gently raking his teeth over the creamy swell as he lifted her slightly and slid home. “Is that what you wanted from me, my angel?” He breathed softly in her ear.

                “Uh-huh,” she gasped as he began to move inside of her lazily, his hands wandering her as she held tight to him and breathed in the scent of the ocean—his scent—and moaned his name.

                “Tell me what else you want from me, my angel,” Raditz purred as he continued to gently flex his hips, his hands gripping hers lightly and pushing and pulling her petite body in time with his. “Anything at all, and it’s yours.”

                “You,” she whimpered, unable to keep her thoughts in her head as she began to spiral up towards her first climax of the evening. “All of you, Raditz, please—I… I need you…”

                “You’ve always had all of me, Usa _m’yo_ ,” he replied hoarsely, amazed by how quickly her words were driving him closer to oblivion. She loved him—that was the only explanation for the answer she’d just given—and Raditz’s beast was practically rolling onto its back and exposing its throat to her in reaction to her response and the way she was gazing at him, her eyes clouded with a mixture of love and desire. “Come for me,” he whispered into her shoulder before biting down hard enough to leave a bruise.

                “You too,” she barely managed before tightening around him and announcing her pleasure with a choked moan, her body trembling as he rode her through the aftershocks and followed her into oblivion.

                They went under for a short time, but Raditz managed to keep his head just enough to breathe into her when it was clear that she was still reeling from the strength of her climax. His Saiyan pride puffed up quite a bit with that knowledge, and when they finally resurfaced he grinned down at her. “Well, we’ve still got an hour and a half, my angel. Want me to nearly drown you again?”

                Her cheeks burning hot as she realized just how close she’d come to uttering “I love you” while he’d been inside of her, Usagi shyly looked away and shook her head. “I’m uh… a little hungry if you’d like to go eat something?”

                “Oh, the jokes I could make about that statement, _r’sha_ ,” he chuckled as he carried her out of the water and set her on her feet.

                Usagi stopped him from putting on his clothes and used her powers to get the sand out of his pants, shoes and shirt before handing them over and doing the same to her own, and when they were finished dressing she nodded down the beach. “I kind of ruined dinner last time,” she said softly. “Would you like to try again?”

                Giving her a tender kiss that conveyed not only his love for her, but his apology for upsetting her the last time, Raditz nodded and dried them both with his ki before scooping her up and flying them down the boardwalk to a little restaurant nestled in the sand.

                Usagi just smiled when Raditz ordered for her in the local dialect as she tried not to seem too starry eyed in her post-sex afterglow. But that was difficult when he was giving her that same look while his tail tickled the back of her knees beneath the table and his fingers remained linked with hers in the center of the small table.

                They didn’t even say anything until after they’d been served their drinks, and it was Raditz that spoke first. “So… only about an hour left?” He asked nonchalantly, as if it didn’t matter. But it did matter, Usagi could see it plainly in his face and hear a touch of disappointment in his voice.

                Toying with the edge of her wineglass to make it sing one sweet, long note, Usagi thought it over and finally shook her head. She was falling in love with him all over again now that she’d been reminded of how good they could be together. He was a total gentleman with her in public, an attentive lover, and best of all, a staunch friend that knew everything about her and vice versa. And she didn’t want to compare, but he honest-to-gods reminded her so much of a more laid-back Vegeta that it was scary. “You’re both an awful lot alike,” she whispered. “You know that?”

                “I’m not him,” Raditz replied flatly, his lips turning down in a frown.

                “I never said that, Raddy,” Usa said gently as she squeezed his hand. “Trust me, there are enough differences that I’d _never_ mix you two up. I was merely pointing out that you had a lot in common. Likes and dislikes, the way you move, things like that.”

                He relaxed at that and actually winked at her, knowing that she wasn’t meaning to compare them as mates. “Taste in women, too, but that was obvious,” he chuckled. “ _Excellent_ taste, I might add.”

                “Not to toot my own horn, but yes; you both possess unmatchable taste in women,” Usagi giggled before draining her glass.

                They waited in companionable silence for the food after that, and once it was served they ate as slowly as their bodies would allow them to; Usagi wasn’t Saiyan, but she still wolfed it down at a speed that rivaled even Goku, and she was on her last bite when Raditz set his last plate to the side. “So… fifteen more minutes,” he sighed.

                The look of longing on his face made Usagi relent and she nodded back towards the house. “I suppose I’d be willing to grant you a short extension if you’d like a nightcap. I wouldn’t want to deny you on the full moon, Raddy.”

                Smirking across the table at her, Raditz just took her hand and pulled her out of her seat to lead her out onto the restaurant patio and started purring the moment he began to dance with her. There wasn’t a band playing that night, but the music playing on the overhead speakers was enough, and if there was one thing Raditz was good at that Vegeta never had been, it was romance. “I’ll take my fifteen minutes like this,” he breathed in her ear as he just soaked up her scent and slow danced, keeping her body pressed tightly to his while he purred and just savored the moment.

                “I nearly went to your coronation as the Saiyan queen, you know,” he rumbled into her hair after a long silence between them in which they’d just enjoyed holding each other. “My common sense made me stay put, though; I wanted to dance with you then and maybe salvage the friendship, but I didn’t want to risk ruining what was supposed to be a joyous day for you and the king.”

                “I don’t think Vegeta would have minded you showing up,” she whispered. “Your brother and his boys were there… they actually looked for you, you know.”

                Raditz just chuckled at that, but it was a humorless sound. “Baby boy Kaka knew better than to expect me, my angel. He’d been to visit plenty of times and knew where I stood on the idea of seeing you again.”

                “Raditz, I’m sor—“ Usa sighed into his mouth when he cut her off with a passionate kiss and was melting into him by the time he drew away and resumed the motions of his feet in time with the music.

                “Don’t you apologize, angel. I’m the one that was at fault from the very beginning and I’ll hear no more ‘I’m sorries’ out of you.”

                She could only nod and rest her head against his chest as she just listened to his heartbeat for another few minutes, and she was sorely disappointed when he stopped and pulled away. “Over already?”

                “Fifteen minutes are up, angel,” he confirmed with a tiny smile. “Come on… I’ll be the good date and walk you home. Mind if we go the long way?” He added once he’d paid the bill for supper and he’d led her out under the light of the rising moon, keeping his eyes on anything and everything but the sky.

                “Not at all, Raditz. I really liked this, you know. A real date,” Usagi said softly, her gentle smile making his eyes light up with happiness.

                “Maybe I shouldn’t ask, but… didn’t Vegeta ever take you out?” Raditz inquired curiously.

                “Not often,” she confessed. “But you know as well as I do that Vegeta was no social butterfly. Add his mental trauma to that…” Usagi shrugged, not sure how to end that statement. “I never held it against him; I was more than happy to have a nice, quiet dinner at home with the family.”

                But she would have been happier surrounded by people, out in public. Raditz knew it but also knew she’d never, ever voice that fact for fear of sounding critical of her first mate. Well, his first act as her mate was to give her anything and everything she’d missed out on while she’d been mated to Vegeta; it was hardly the king’s fault that he could never handle more than a few people in a room at the same time, but his extremely social mate had been slightly neglected in the process. “There’s a carnival thingy something or other down the boardwalk, Usa. Most of the games are just scams, but maybe it’d be fun?”

                The queen of the stars grinned at that and nodded. “Funnel cakes!” She cheered. “And deep fried Twinkies, and deep fried bananas, and deep fried Snickers bars, and deep fried Coke!”

                “Huh?”

                “Heh… foods from my home world,” Usagi explained as she let him lead her further out on the boardwalk. “When we did carnivals and stuff like that, Rei, Mina, Mako and I would drag Ami to them with us, kicking and screaming about how she needed to study, but then we’d remind her about the food and she’d give in. They deep fry **_everything_** ,” she whispered conspiratorially. “Twinkies are these crème-filled sponge cakes, and Snickers bars are chocolate candy bars filled with nougat, caramel and peanuts. They’re delicious! And then they dip it in batter and deep fry it right in front of you—you can practically feel the heart attack coming when you watch it cook!”

                Raditz just grinned and enjoyed her infectious excitement as he led her closer to the flashing lights and the scent of cooking turkey legs and cotton candy. They’d just eaten supper, but he found himself drooling when they got to the first food stall and found that they were serving funnel cakes, so he bought them each one before taking her down the midway and stopping at the games. “Well… lady’s choice, my angel. Thanks to the brats, I’m quite proficient at all of these, so take your pick.”

                “Explains the stuffed cat in Rei’s room that’s bigger than her,” Usagi giggled as she pointed out a classic ball throwing game that was the same as one from Earth. “They probably put weights in the milk bottles, but I’m sure a touch of ki would take care of that problem?”

                “Nope. House rules, my angel. No powers of any kind… otherwise, where’s the fun in winning anything?” Raditz purred as he tugged her over to the ball throw, delighted to be spending some quality time with his mate, and he paid for a dozen balls before handing her half of them. “Ladies first.”

                Usagi was glad that she had a good throwing arm, but just as she’d guessed, her best pitch still didn’t topple the bottom row of bottles that she was aiming at—hell, one of the balls even bounced right off the bottom row and she gave the man running the stall the stink eye before nodding towards Raditz to try his luck.

                Since he wasn’t using his ki, the Saiyan couldn’t best the weighted bottles either, but he shrugged once he ran out of balls and led Usagi to the next stall, where people were shooting targets with jets of water. Judging by her face, they had a similar game on Earth, too. “Prepare for me to kick your ass, _r’sha_ ,” he chuckled as he took a seat.

                “Bring it,” she purred as she sat beside him and waited for the bell to ring, signaling the beginning of the match. In the meantime, she eyed the prizes and giggled at the sight of a stuffed version of Cosmos nestled among the other dolls, and knew that it would be perfect for Raditz if she won.

                The bell sounded then, and Usagi grinned as she started shooting targets with the water, but after thirty seconds she yelped and jumped and glared at Raditz before turning her own water gun towards him and aiming it at his face.

                The buzzer went off when he turned his own to soak her for a second time, and when the man running the game just rolled his eyes at them, they both grinned and burst out laughing. “Hey, she was beating me!” Raditz laughed as he helped Usagi to her feet and off the wooden floor that the water had knocked her to.

                “She did beat you,” the man replied before pointing towards the prizes. He took down the Cosmos doll when Usa pointed at it, and once she had it in her hands she shyly handed it to Raditz.

                “Just in case I’m ever off doing a healing and you’re stuck at home,” she whispered.

                Raditz jerked her to him then and their soaked clothing squelched loudly as he lifted her against him and kissed her, his heart beating a funny pattern due to his joy. She’d just made it sound like she was going to stay with him, and while she’d stated as much before, it still made him happier than he’d ever been in his life. “Don’t be surprised when you come back and find it sticky,” he teased as he moved his mouth to her earlobe.

                “Ew, Raditz!” Usagi snorted as she whacked him lightly, but she couldn’t help but giggle at the thought of Raditz gazing at the doll adoringly as he groaned her name and rubbed one out. “Oh dear gods, the mental image!” She laughed. “I can’t unsee it!”

                “Come on,” he snickered, sticking the doll in his tail belt as he led her further on. He grinned at the sight of the dunk tanks and pointed them out to her, but shook his head when she asked if he wanted to try and dunk her. “No, my angel, Turles once got strapped for cash during a shipping boycott, so he volunteered to sit in the tank and let everyone that disliked him take a shot. He got completely hammered in there, too! Reiko still calls that thing ‘the drunk tank’ to this very day. He also earned more money than any other person that’s ever sat in the hot seat.”

                “Well, Turles can be a bit of an asshole,” Usagi giggled. “I’m sure people were lining up across the galaxy for a shot at dunking his ass.”

                “Yeah, but they had to get in line behind us, first… and Reiko spent twenty credits of her dowry, too. She landed _every fucking shot_ as she cursed him for the years he’d made her wait on Althea… and I’m telling you now, if she’d been able to afford it, she would have bought twenty more balls.”

                “How many did you buy?” Usagi asked as she imagined Reiko winding up as she yelled obscenities at her mate.

                “Just one… but I bought all six brats a ball each and told them to cheat like hell to nail the shot. We practiced for days on Tarra’s throwing arm! Hell, Kakarot, Gohan and that asshole Namekian even showed up and dunked Turley a few times to work out some lingering anger they felt about that whole Tree of Might thing.” Raditz turned them then, since they’d reached the end of the carnival, and when he noticed her shivering he remembered that they were both soaked and he used his ki to dry them. “So, one more game? I still haven’t won you a prize.”

                “Shit, I could play games all night with you, Raddy,” Usagi replied sunnily, matching his grin as he drug her back up the midway to the ring toss. She took the rings that the woman running the game handed her, but wasn’t surprised to land only one; she’d always been shit at this game since it required a gentle kind of throw. “Well, I get a little prize, at least,” she giggled as she pointed out a little stuffed blackbird. “Any luck, Raditz?” She called across the large setup of bottles.

                “Oh, I think I managed nicely,” he chuckled and he tossed his last ring and easily made the shot.

                The woman in charge just eyed all ten rings resting neatly around the bottle tops and tipped her head towards him with a smile. “That’s good for two grand prizes; I don’t think I’ve ever seen anyone sink all ten shots.”

                True enough, he’d topped his best record of eight. “What about one grand prize and five little ones?” Raditz inquired. When she nodded, he quickly picked out five toys before eyeing several items in a glass case. “That one.”

                Usagi blushed when he returned with a ring box in hand and five toys under his other arm and he grinned from ear to ear as he hit his knees in front of her. “Raddy,” she hissed, “what are you doing?”

                “Kakarot told me that this is how they do it on your home planet,” he replied smoothly, waggling his eyebrows mischievously up at her when he noticed all the other people on the boardwalk that were turning and watching the exchange. “You gonna say no in front of all these people and break my heart, my angel?” He added as he flicked open the box with his thumb and gave her the puppy eyes.

                When she just turned bright red, Raditz noted the wedding bands that were still on her left hand and felt a little guilty at the thought of asking her to take them off, so he set down the toys and grasped her right. “Usagi, my angel, light of my life—would you do me the honor of being my mate? Til death do us part… which will likely be you killing me off one day when I get on your nerves?”

                The queen of the stars actually laughed at that and nodded. “Yes, Raditz, I’ll marry you! Now get off your damned knees and stop making a scene!” She exclaimed with a series of nervous giggles. The applause from all the people watching them made her damned near pass out from embarrassment, but she noted with a gentle smile that Raditz was placing the silver ring on her right hand. “I’ll never take it off,” she promised him as he stood and kissed her tenderly.

                More than a few men gave Raditz a hearty backslap as they made their way back towards the beachhouse, and when they got home, Usagi smiled warmly when Raditz immediately made the rounds to each of the littlest kids’ rooms and placed a toy on their empty pillows. She did the same and put the bird she’d won on Rei’s before heading to Raditz’s room, but when she entered it she couldn’t help but eye the bed nervously.

                “What’s wrong, angel?” He asked when he came inside. “Oh. Don’t worry about it,” he purred in her ear before heading towards the shower.

                “You sure?” Usagi replied incredulously as she followed him and hopped under the spray, noting the hunger in his eyes as she helped him wash his hair.

                He didn’t answer until his hair was rinsed and he’d begun to soap hers up. “Angel, it’s not all about sex for me. Not that I’d turn it down, but I want to be your mate, not just a fuck buddy. And stop fiddling with the rings on your left hand,” he added gently. “They mean a lot to you. I’d never ask you to take them off.”

                Raditz was surprised to feel her trembling against him as he rinsed her hair, and when he turned her and saw the tears in her eyes he cut off the water, dried them with his ki, and took her to bed. He snuggled her tightly as he brushed away her tears, his purr rumbling softly in comfort for his mate. “Did I do something wrong, Usa _m’yo_?”

                “No,” she managed through her tears, “you’ve done everything perfectly right, Raddy.” _And I’m falling in love with you so hard that it’s starting to hurt._

########################

                Usagi woke the next morning feeling inexplicably happy, as if everything was right with the world, and when she saw the flowers on Raditz’s otherwise empty pillow, she giggled at the very Saiyan offering. “Something dead to appease my snatch,” she mused. “At least it’s not the bodies of my enemies… or a horse head,” she added with a laugh as she recalled a movie from her original timeline.

                She found Reiko in the kitchen, obviously enjoying some downtime away from the kids as she just relaxed at the table, and Usagi gave her a sunny smile as soon as the flowers were in a vase of water. “You two have a good night?”

                “It was wonderful,” Reiko sighed. “Turles rubbed my back and my feet for an hour. You?”

                “We went out on a date… and I’m surprised Turles didn’t take advantage and wind up making love to you for several hours,” Usagi chuckled. “With the kids gone, it seems like the opportune time to get some lovin’.”

                “Nah, I was worn out from the baby. Besides, tonight’s the second night of the full moon,” she added with a shrug. “I’m sure we’ll wind up in the bed before it’s even risen.” Reiko frowned then and regarded Usagi seriously. “What about you? You won’t deny Raditz on the strongest full moon night, will you?”

                “No. If he asks, anyway. I think he’s trying to prove that he doesn’t just want sex… last night we just went to bed and slept.”

                Reiko rolled out of her chair then and onto her feet, cradling her large belly as she grabbed a plate from the counter and gave it to the Lunarian. “Surely, you know that it’s not just sex to him, right? Does he really need to prove it?”

                “Of course not,” Usagi snorted as she dug into her breakfast and devoured it quickly, appreciating Reiko’s silence while she ate. Finally, she spoke again as she put her plate in the sink. “He’s trying to court me, which I appreciate. He knows that Vegeta never actually courted me in a traditional sense, so I’m sure that Raditz is just trying to give me what I missed out on. It’s awfully sweet of him,” she finished with a little happy smile.

                “You’re in love with him,” Reiko replied simply. “When he notices it, he’s going to be the happiest man in the universe, Usagi. Hell, he was happy as a clam this morning when he and Turles went outside for their workout—Usa, why are you crying?” She asked in alarm before coming around the table to check on her. “You’re afraid?” She finally guessed.

                The blonde could only nod as she swallowed and wiped at her tears, but she returned the embrace when Reiko hugged her tightly and whispered soothing words into her hair. “Last night,” she finally choked out, “he said ‘til death do us part’… and I only just realized that he’s right, Reiko. What happens when he dies?” She whispered. “He’s not going to outlive me; I’m immortal.”

                The firestarter sighed at that and sat down in the chair right next to her future sister’s before hugging her again. “You take it one day at a time and enjoy what you have, while you have it.”

                _If only it was that easy_ , Usagi thought sadly.

 


	7. Chapter 7

“Can you do it?” Reiko whispered into the communicator that she’d “borrowed” from Usagi to “call her brother.”

                “I can try,” the soft, feminine voice answered from the other line. “But that’s not the real question here, Auntie… the question is, is he on board with this? I don’t want to do something like this to find out later that he’s upset about it.”

                “While I understand your concern, honey, just trust me when I say that he will do anything to make her happy. ANYTHING. He wouldn’t even hesitate to consent to this if he knew how terrified she was.”

                That soft voice sighed and the owner of it contemplated that news for a moment before speaking again. “If you’re positive, then ok. I’ll do it. But if he’s mad about it I’m sending him to you to explain.”

                “Deal. Anything I can do to help?” Reiko inquired, trying to keep her voice as low as possible when she heard Turles entering the house.

                “Send me a couple of your fastest boys if you don’t want anyone to know about this just yet; I’m good, but I’m not good enough to find all seven of them as fast as you implied.”

                “Not a problem. I’ll call Bardock and Turley and have them come over. Send Kakarot here to pick them up.”

####################################

                Usagi woke to content purring, a gentle mouth nibbling at her shoulder, a low voice breathing sweet words in her ear… and an unmistakably hard cock pressing into the back of her thigh. “Good afternoon,” she chuckled sleepily.

                “Afternoon, yes,” he purred as he slipped his arousal between her thighs and pressed it to the cotton of her panties. “Good…? Give me five minutes and I’ll make it very, _very_ good for you, my angel.”

                “Moon’s up already, isn’t it?” She giggled.

                “Yup. And I came to wake my beloved from her cat nap for a little afternoon delight,” Raditz chuckled as he continued to nibble and kiss her shoulder, his sneaky fingers easing her underwear off of her hips and down her thighs. His tail removed them the rest of the way and he sent them flying across the room as he drew a thigh backwards over his own legs and pressed his entry, his hand slipping around her to tease and caress all of her good spots.

                “Just a little?” Usagi gasped as he pushed only an inch into her. “Because it feels like an awful lot.”

                “And you feel extremely wet, my angel,” he countered with a purr. “Far too wet, considering you were sleeping… was someone having a good dream?” He asked as he laid his hand over her stomach and pulled her down onto him, his purr hitching and his eyes rolling back a bit as he slid home and filled her, his hips immediately rolling back and forth gently when her body arched backwards in a quest for friction. But when she gave him a breathless ‘yes,’ he stopped. “Really? You were dreaming about me, angel?”

                “If it means you’re going to stop, then no!” Usagi whined.

                Raditz laughed at that, and with a playful little wiggle he stopped. “Maybe I’ll only stop if you don’t give me the details, baby… talk to me,” he whispered in her ear. “Tell me what I was doing to you in this dream.”

                “Oh gods, you’re so fucking dirty,” Usagi replied, only slightly annoyed by the way he’d stopped… because honestly, the thought of talking dirty was more than a little hot to her. She knew he could smell it, too, so when he began to kiss and nuzzle her throat but didn’t move his lower body, she closed her eyes to better recall her dream. Not that there was much to it, anyway, but it had been so vivid!

                “Tell me, my angel… tell me what I did to make you so hot and wet.”

                “You… you were—“ Usagi moaned when he began to move again, but when she didn’t keep speaking he stopped and she bent her head to nip at the hand cupping her breast. “It’s not like I can really tell you when you’re about to make me come, Raddy.”

                “Mmm… true. So… I was… what? Was I loving you like this, my angel? Or was I fucking you hard and fast?” When she whimpered at the slightest shifting of his hips, Raditz grinned and relented and began to move again, purring loudly as he felt her immediately began to tighten. And then she was moaning his name and he was growling possessively as she came undone against him and around his aching cock, her body squeezing him deliciously while he rode out her climax.

                She was surprised when he withdrew from her body and rolled on top of her, his lips twitching up in a grin—but he didn’t lift her hips to take her again. “Oh… you want to know what you did in the dream?” She inquired, her cheeks flushing at the way his eyes burned with desire. “Well, um… I couldn’t see you because it was too dark to see anything,” she confessed.

                “Really…” He purred with delight.

                “Yeah, really… and well, you were kissing me a lot and—what are you doing?” She asked when he reached over to open his nightstand.

                “I’m getting a blindfold,” he replied smoothly. “Don’t stop talking, angel, I’m committing all of this to memory.” Raditz waggled his eyebrows then and winked at her lecherously. “After all, I want to make your dirtiest little dreams come true.”

                Oh gods… he was actually going to do it!? Her answer came when he drew out a piece of black silk and he simply draped it over her eyes, blocking out the sight of his smug, seductive little smirk, and Usagi wondered if he knew that telling him was a whole lot easier if she didn’t have to look him in the face. “I could feel your weight on top of me,” she whispered, followed by a gasp when he immediately shifted to fulfill the fantasy, his entire rock-hard body settling into place, his rigid cock pressing against her sex intimately. “And… and then you were kissing me everywhere… you were making me come with your tail and your mouth.”

                The husky quality that her voice was taking made Raditz purr with desire, and he slipped his tail between her thighs to gently tease her clit. “And what were you doing to me, _r’sha_?”

                “I couldn’t do anything,” she admitted, her face turning crimson. “I was sort of… tied up.”

                “Oh hell _yes_ ,” Raditz groaned. “Do you want me to tie you up, my angel? Is that something you want or was it just a weird dream? Pleeeease tell me you want it,” he begged eagerly.

                “I’m not against the idea… do you want to tie me up?” Usagi squeaked, half turned on and half intimidated by the way she could feel his beast coming out.

                “You have no clue how many times I’ve fantasized about tying you to the bed and focusing on nothing but your pleasure for _hours_ , my angel.” A knock came at the door then and Raditz groaned loudly. “Fuck, time’s up. I told Turley to come get me when he was ready,” he informed her with a grumble as he slipped the black silk off of her eyes and kissed her tenderly. “But we’re definitely continuing this conversation tonight, woman.”

                “But…” Usagi blinked in surprise and briefly glanced down at his arousal before looking back up at his grinning face. “You didn’t even get off, Raddy.”

                “Wasn’t about me, Usa, it was about you,” he purred. “And I’ll be getting my fill of you tonight, anyway. But right now I’m running on a schedule. Work before play and all that mess.”

                “Wait… where are you going?” Usagi asked quickly, rolling out of bed to put on some fresh underwear and a skirt and top. “Can I come with you?”

                “Sure, we’re just going to Earth to visit baby boy Kaka; I didn’t think you’d be interested in going since you were just there a couple days ago, and I really wanted to go since I couldn’t visit Earth before… while… you know,” he finished with a slight blush and a little shrug. “Kinda made a mess the last time I was there.”

                “I’d love to come with you,” Usagi said warmly. “Come on, I need to check in on Goten anyways; he was a bigger comfort to me in the last five years than anyone really knows, and I think it might help him a little to see me happy.”

                Shoving down a huge wave of jealousy, Raditz managed to remain outwardly calm as he opened the door and nodded at Turles, who was grinning over having interrupted them in the middle of making out. “How exactly did my nephew comfort you?” The older of the two asked softly.

                “You know he lost his mate over two hundred years ago, Raddy, don’t be like that,” Usagi snorted. “Goten and I talked a lot. About how it hurt, you know? And he was one of your staunchest supporters, so you’d better show him some love when you see him.”

                “Oh. Sorry,” he chuckled, his hand flying to the back of his head. “You know how the beastie has all those fun jealous tendencies.”

                ####################################

                After teleporting to Earth, Usagi was surprised to see her daughter run to Raditz, Turles and his sons, rather than to her mother, but she shrugged it off, assuming that Chibi-Usa was merely ecstatic to meet her distant cousins for once in her life. Sure, her pink-haired daughter had been to New Vegeta-sai plenty of times as a child, but the House of Raditz had rarely made a showing, and never when the king and the queen were visiting.

                Usagi could see that Turles’s boys were already hitting it off with her daughter, and while Bardock’s posture made the blonde inwardly bristle a bit, she merely rolled her eyes and huffed. Vegeta had taught their daughter how to defend herself well enough to fend Bardock off if his advances were unwanted, so there was no use needlessly worrying about him getting too fresh.

                “Aunt Usa?”

                She turned and smiled softly at the sight of Goten, who was looking more than a little disheveled, his face unshaven, his hair wilder than normal, and the bags under his eyes dark. “A bad couple of days?” She sighed understandingly.

                “I keep dreaming about her, Aunt Usa,” he whispered. “That she’s in the dark somewhere, alive, but my flashlight keeps going out. And just when I think I’m getting close, I wake up. Would…” Goten glanced at his Uncle Raditz for a moment, and finding him occupied, he nodded towards the Son house. “Would you come inside? I… I wanted to talk to you.”

                “Sure, Goten,” she replied gently, slinging an arm around his shoulders the moment they were inside. “Come on, lay down, and I’ll give you dreamless sleep for twelve hours, ok? Then you’re getting a shower and a shave—“

                “That’s not what I want,” Goten said, cutting her off with a wave of his hand, his eyes locked onto a picture of Rei hanging on the wall.

                The way he straightened a little and the hard gleam to his eyes filled Usagi with dread, and before Goten could even make the request she was shaking her head violently. “No, Goten! I—I’m not going to do that! You swore to me—you—you made a blood pact with me, remember!? That I wouldn’t try to kill myself anymore and neither would you!”

                “I’ll cut my tail off in dishonor, then,” he grunted. “And I’ll bleed out from it. Either way, I win, even if the second option is a lot more painful.” Goten finally turned to face her then, the resolve on his face that of a Saiyan warrior’s before he leapt into battle. “You heal people, Usagi. And I’ve heard you say on more than one occasion that death is sometimes the greatest healer of them all. Will you help me, or will you allow me to suffer for a couple more centuries?”

                “Goten, I’m not going to kill you!” Usagi cried out loudly, tears spilling down her cheeks. “After everything that’s happened over the last five years, all the talks we’ve had—“

                “And you’re happy now!” Goten yelled. “You don’t need me anymore, Usagi, so what’s the big deal!? I was only staying alive long enough to do you some good, and then I thought that you of all people would understand, would—would know what it’s like when I asked—would—w—would…”

                Usagi caught him when he trembled violently for a moment and collapsed, and they both wept openly as she cradled him gently against her. “Please, Usagi… please… just make the pain stop… it hurts so much,” Goten whispered shakily. “Please just help me find some peace.”

                “No,” she sighed, her brain working hard as she considered telling him about Turles’s daughter. But how would his beast react to such news? Shit… if Goten demanded to meet her and Turles said no… hell, Reiko or Raditz would likely say no first! Was there some way she could possibly hint…? No, there wasn’t; Goten had always been nothing but straight with her, and Usagi could only give him the same in return.

                She was broken out of her thoughts by the feeling of something cold pressing to her throat, and the Queen of the Stars opened her eyes to merely sigh at the sight of a knife. “Seriously, Goten, I know you’re not going to hurt me, so cut it out. I know you’re in pain; I know it better than anyone else, in fact. But I can’t kill you, honey.” Taking a deep, calming breath, Usagi steeled herself to tell him about Rei, only for the front door to slam open, a Saiyan roar of outrage filling her ears, making her wince. “Raditz—“

                “PUT IT DOWN NOW, BOY!”

                That was the very moment that Usagi lost all hope of calming Goten, and both Saiyan males bared their teeth and snarled at each other, their kis flaring wildly to cloak them both in gold. Only Goten’s was much higher, thanks to years of training with Trunks, and Raditz visibly grit his teeth when his nephew ascended to level two without batting an eyelash.

                No one was sure who moved first, but Raditz somehow wound up with his hands around Goten’s throat, his green eyes filled with rage as he gazed down into a pair of content, accepting, almost _joyful_ black eyes… and then it hit him. Goten had immediately powered down so that his uncle could easily crush the life out of him. “You want to die,” Raditz’s beast breathed in utter horror.

                “Just do it, Uncle Raddy… please… put me out of my misery,” he begged softly.

                “No,” a voice gurgled from behind them.

                Raditz froze at the sound of Usagi’s voice; it was strangled, wet, almost as if she’d been—

                Goten fell to the floor then in a heap, and Raditz was immediately screaming for Chibi-Usa at the top of his lungs, bent over a bleeding Usagi, his hands shaking uncontrollably over the knife buried in the right side of her chest.

                Red.

                So much red.

                Red everywhere, coating everything.

                “Angel… my angel, please hang on!”

“Gods no!” Goten wailed. “Aunt Usa, I’m sorry!”

“No, you little shit, don’t touch the blade!” Raditz snapped as he barked out a summons in ki language to his brother and his other nephews to bring the moon princess post-haste, filling them in on the dire situation.

“She can’t die, Uncle Raditz, don’t freak out,” Goten said quickly in an attempt to calm them both down. “Aunt Usa, I’m so sorry,” he added, running his fingers through her hair. “I… I wasn’t going to hurt you, I swear it, I just wanted—“

“I know,” she managed in that gurgling, choked voice that told both Saiyans that she had a punctured lung. “Goten, Rei is—“

“Don’t talk,” Raditz growled before turning his head and snarling down at his suicidal nephew. “I’ve seen the pictures of your mate, boy, and I’ve suspected for a couple years that your cousin is your mate reincarnated. That’s what Usagi was likely going to tell you. Now get the fuck out of my sight before I deprive my favorite niece of her mate before she’s even met him.”

Goten just stared in disbelief, but he turned his head when he felt a small hand weakly squeeze his own, and the truth was right there in Usagi’s eyes. “She’s alive?” He gasped, as if speaking such hopeful words louder would make it untrue.

“Yes, Goten…”

“Can… can I see her…?”

“No!” Raditz snapped, fighting the desire to rip out Goten’s throat. “Get the fuck out of here, you selfish, weak little bastard!” He ordered with a cuff to the side of his head. “NOW!”


	8. Chapter 8

“I’m sorry,” Goten whispered for what was likely the millionth time as he continued to sit at Usagi’s bedside despite the scathing glares and growled threats coming from his uncle. “I honestly didn’t mean to hurt her, Uncle Raditz. If I had actually meant to, I would have just done it.”

                “Shut up, puppy,” Raditz snarled, his hands at odds with his furious tone as they gently petted and stroked their way through his unconscious mate’s hair. “Don’t make me put you through another wall.”

                Rubbing his cracked ribs, Goten couldn’t help the tiny smirk on his face at the pain; he’d deserved that and more, but Raditz had only hit him the one time. Sure, he’d made the blow count while he’d needed to back off during the healing, but the moment Chibi-Usa had separated from her mother, Raditz had been right back at her side and focused solely on her. “Uncle Raddy… what’s she like?”

                A hair’s breadth from snapping, Raditz turned his head to snarl out another “shut up!”, but he stopped himself cold at the look in Goten’s eyes. That was when he realized a very hard truth—

                Goten was him.

                “Boy… jog my memory. How long has it been since Rei died?” He asked, his tone instantly gentled.

                “Two hundred and twenty-four years this January,” Goten replied softly, his eyes welling up with tears again.

                Sure, it had been about the same amount of time since he’d last seen Usagi before she’d recovered from Vegeta’s death, but Raditz had had _hope_. “I’m not condoning the fact that you nearly killed my mate, boy… but I get it,” he rumbled. “If Usagi hadn’t been alive, if I’d gone that long without any chance of seeing her ever again… shit boy, I’m amazed that you’re even still alive.”

                “I kept it together for Rissi for a long time,” Goten informed him. “When she kept miscarrying children I helped her and Geta bear the constant loss. But then they could finally have kids and I wasn’t needed anymore, and Aunt Usa caught me trying to kill myself one day. She was a great comfort, Uncle Raditz, so when Vegeta died, I tried my best to repay the favor.”

                “I thought you and Trunks were best buddies. Why in the hell wasn’t he helping you out?”

                “Trunks did help and he still does,” Goten answered defensively. “Trunks was also occupied with taking care of a highly unstable father, his own grandkids, and then suicide watch for his stepmom when his father passed away. I wasn’t going to be that douchebag needy friend when he already had so much on his plate!”

                “You have a point.” Raditz relaxed then and ran his hand through Usagi’s blonde strands, comforted by the silky texture. “Rei… she’s Rei. She’s beautiful and awesome. Tough as nails. A temper that sends her older brothers running.”

                “The fire probably has a lot to do with that,” Goten chuckled, cracking a genuine smile for the first time in centuries. “She lit my hair on fire once, you know. When we were in high school. I can’t even remember what the argument was about, but I _do_ vividly recall dunking my head in the toilet in the boys’ room to put the flames out.”

                “Heh… Bardock Junior had to do that once over… huh, I can’t remember what it was about, either!” Raditz laughed.

                “He put toothpaste in my hair,” grumped a young, female voice from the doorway, making both of their heads turn and Goten’s jaw slowly drop in shock.

                Rei shook off her father’s tight grip on her hand before entering the room, but when he growled she just turned around and gave him a sunny smile. “Daddy, I got this. I’m just fine. Really,” she added when Turles just continued to make that low, violent, protective sound that promised death and destruction for Goten if the younger Super Saiyan so much as laid a hand on his daughter. “Daddy. He’s not going to hurt me. And if he does I’ll kill him myself!” She added with a little flare of her ki. “Understand me, dork?” She asked as she turned her head to glare up at a still-staring Goten, whose eyes were filled with unshed tears.

                Goten could only nod slowly, his eyes unblinking when she smiled and turned back to Turles once more. “See? Told you so.”

                But Turles wasn’t comforted, not in the least, so he turned to Raditz. “If he so much as…”

                “Turley, seriously,” Raditz just snorted. “The boy isn’t going to do anything; she’s **_six_**. But for the sake of argument… if he does, I’ll beat him so badly he’ll wish he was dead, and then I’ll save the killing for you.”

                “Good. I’m going to help Chibi-Usa with something very important in the meantime. I only brought her because Reiko insisted that Goten should see her once. Just a visual confirmation that she was real… the woman talked a really good game and I still can’t quite recall how she managed to get her way,” he grumbled in annoyance.

                “She has tits, that’s how,” Raditz replied easily as he kept an eye on how Goten was just watching Rei intently, tears now spilling down over his cheeks. “Go on, I’ll chaperone.”

                Turles was gone then, and Goten finally dared to allow himself to speak. “Rei.”

                “That’s my name, yes,” she replied evenly, her arms crossed sternly over her chest. “And you’re Goten.” She rubbed at her forehead then, shaking it slowly, and muttered, “shut up… quit it… I know.”

                “Rei?” He choked out a second time, this time in concern, his hands trembling on the seat of the chair as he fought down the urge to go to her.  

                “Boy,” Raditz rumbled softly in warning.

                “ _Shut up_!” Goten snapped out hoarsely as he wiped at his eyes with his sleeve. “I’m not some sort of perverted fucking pedophile, Uncle Raditz, I just—I just—“

                “It’s ok,” Rei sighed as she strode right up to the chair, now rubbing at her temple. “My beast… she’s been off ever since Auntie Usa showed up. I never told anyone because I thought I was going batshit like Uncle Broly, but I think Momma knew something was going on. She won’t stop talking… it’s almost like she has a mind of her own.”

                “Oh?” Goten managed hoarsely.

                “She says that she has a message for you.” Ignoring Raditz’s immediate protest, she reached out then and touched his cheek.

#########################

                Goten blinked his eyes open to find himself in a dark void, but he wasn’t alone—there was a slender shape working its way through the shadows… drawing closer, and… “Rei,” he breathed, fat tears spilling over onto his cheeks at the sight of her.

                “Oh, don’t be a crybaby,” the priestess snorted as she approached, her rough tone only making him cry harder.

                “I’m sorry! Please, Rei, don’t go! I’m sorry, I’ll try not to cry! I’ve just…” Goten sniffled then and wiped at his cheeks futilely; the tears just wouldn’t stop coming.

                “It’s alright,” Rei sighed gently when his arms engulfed her and his tail immediately looped around her wrist. “Shhh… Goten, it’s alright,” she breathed into his hair when his tears began to soak into her hair and his sobbing became borderline violent. “I’d only meant to bust your balls a little, Ten. Please don’t cry.”

                “I’m sorry!” He choked out. “Gods, Rei, I’m so sorry!”

                “About what?”

                 “You… you told me that if the gods wished for you to live as long as I did… that they would do it. But… I went to the dragon and… and…”

                When he only started crying harder, Rei was surprised to feel herself purring softly, a sound she wasn’t used to making since she was so new to this body. Sure, her mind was old and wise, but it was separate from the little girl’s until she was old enough to handle the memories of her past life, but the fact remained that she’d only been Saiyan for a handful of years. “You tried to wish me young and healthy.”

                A nod into her hair confirmed that, and Goten’s arms held her even tighter. “Shenron… he couldn’t grant my wish,” he sobbed heavily. “B—Because…”

                “I was already dead,” Rei finished for him, her voice soft and full of forgiveness. “I know, Ten, I remember it probably even better than you do.”

                “You didn’t die alone, but… I should have been there,” Goten breathed, his beast’s purr stuttering to life for the first time in two centuries. “I should have respected your wishes, Rei. I should have let you go… and I should have been man enough to accept your death instead of running off like an immature brat. I’m sorry I left to find the dragon balls. I’m sorry I wasn’t with you at the end.”

                “No, Ten… please just let it go. I willingly let go and passed on because I knew you were going to wish for me to be young again. But I couldn’t let you do that, sweetheart. I just couldn’t, even though I wanted to live with you forever and watch our grandkids have kids. Shh… please, Goten, let me explain why I didn’t stay, ok?” His dead mate asked gently when he tried to protest. “Please, I promise you that there was a very good reason for it.”

                “Alright,” he replied softly despite the fact that he was upset with her for not staying.

“I saw something in the fire once. Long ago, before Rissi was born… if I lived… then… then Usa would have died. I knew she was alive somewhere and I never told another soul about it. I even kept it from you, Ten…” The young woman swallowed hard then and shook her head in dismay. “If not for your pain and the comfort you gave her after Vegeta died, Usagi would have succeeded in killing herself.

“You have to understand, Ten… Usa and I were closer than blood sisters, and when I remembered my life with her and the other Senshi and then knew that I could prevent her death, I couldn’t just not do anything. I could never, ever let my best friend die, Ten… I’m sorry I put you through so much, but after everything she’d sacrificed for us, I just couldn’t let her live so miserably without any hope for happiness. She needed you to be there for her, she needed just one person that would understand the kind of pain that she was going through. And with me alive, she… she wouldn’t have had _you_.”

                Her hand cupping his face, Rei kissed him briefly on the lips, and even though they were only deep in his mind, he still felt it and shivered with pleasure. Gods, he’d missed her. “So don’t apologize, Ten. I’m the one that’s sorry. Forgive me?”

                There was nothing to forgive, but Goten nodded dutifully and leaned into the touch. “I’ll see you again in a few decades?”

                “When little Rei’s older and ready for it, you two will mate, and the mark will fully wake me again. But you have to be patient, Ten. Will you wait for me?” The miko asked gently. “I know you’ve waited a long time, already.”

                “I’d wait another two centuries for you,” he answered firmly. “As I long as I know I’ll see you, I can wait.”

                ####################

                “Good,” a little girl giggled, waggling her fingers down at him when he cracked open his eyes and found himself flat on his back. “I take it she said whatever she needed to say? I sure hope so, because she was starting to get on my damned nerves.”

                Looking up at her soft, understanding smile, Goten began crying fresh tears and only briefly heard Raditz protest before he was engulfed in a tight hug. “Shh… don’t cry. My beast said she would make you stop crying, but I guess she was wrong. But you need to stop being sad like Uncle Raditz, ok?” The little girl pulled away then, and Goten could have sworn that there was a hint of his old mate in the little smirk she wore. It had always meant trouble for him. “Besides… you should be saving those tears up for twenty years from now.”

                “Oh?” He choked out in surprise.

                “Yup. Because I’m going to kick your ass so badly that you’re going to cry buckets,” she snickered as she sprang back up onto her feet and gave her uncle a winning smile. “Daddy’s calling me,” she informed the both of them. “He says he needs my help with something for Auntie Usa.”

                “You want me to fly you there?” Raditz asked as he shot Goten a look that told him he wouldn’t be flying the little girl anywhere without supervision, even if he did trust him. Turles would have his head if he let that happen.

                “Nah, I got it!” Rei turned her attention back to Goten then and grinned. “I meant it. Ass-kicking fiesta, Ten. I already give Bardock a run for his money.”

                “I’ll see you then,” he managed, unable to stop himself from grinning. “And you’d better not hold back, because I won’t.”

                “Ha! As if I would ever do such a thing!” She laughed as she opened the door. “See you in twenty!”

###################################

                A tender smile and a pair of soft ebony eyes greeted Usagi when she woke, and despite her disorientation and the fuzzy-headed feeling she had from the painkillers her daughter had given her, she couldn’t help but return the expression and relax into the foreign bed. Raditz was there and that was all that mattered to her at the moment. “Hey.”

                “Welcome back, my angel,” Raditz sighed happily before pressing his lips to hers. He’d intended to keep it short and sweet, but to his utter surprise she was pressing for more and within moments they were devouring each other slowly, her delicate hands tugging him down onto the bed with her, her legs wrapping around his waist in invitation.

                But as badly as he wanted to give her all of him and more, the fact remained that she was still healing. “When we get home, _r’sha_ ,” Raditz breathed as he pulled away, only to get jerked back down for another hungry kiss. “ _Hi’nah_ ,” he gasped between kisses, “ _p’ue m’yo, r’sha_.”

                Usagi only complied when she felt a faint ache in her shoulder where the wound had been, and she sighed in frustration when she released him. “I just wanted…”

                “I know, sweetheart, I know. And you can have me once we’re home, alright? Not only do I not want to get our scents all over Goten’s bed, but I’d prefer to make love to you without smelling him in the sheets. I’ll have Kakarot teleport us back as soon as Chibi-Usa says you’re—“ Raditz stopped abruptly and blinked in surprise at the total change in venue.

                They were back in his room on the ocean planet, and the full moon was rising in the nighttime sky. Shivering at the sensation of the moonlight on his back, Raditz couldn’t stop his immediate purr from the combination of the full moon and the scent of his mate’s fertility. “Usa… take us back, ok? I’m afraid of hurting you,” he rasped out. “You’re still healing up, and—“

                “Shh, it’s ok,” she breathed as she grasped one of his hands, linking their fingers as tears filled her eyes. “Raditz… dealing with Goten… it made me realize…” Usagi shook her head briefly before swallowing the urge to cry at the thought of Raditz completely losing his shit like Goten had. The very idea of him being in so much mental anguish was simply horrible. “I should have come to you sooner. You didn’t have to be alone for so long… and I’m sorry for that. You could have at least bitten me and it would have spared us both the pain that we endured.”

                Gently wiping at her tears, Raditz just shook his head and sighed. “In a perfect world, yeah, that probably could have happened, Usa. But we both know that a mating mark would have only wound up with you angry at me; there’s likely not a chance in hell I could have resisted consummating the bite right away.”

                “I know, but… it would have _spared you the pain_ , Raditz. The thought of you being in as much pain as Goten… and because of _me_ …” Usagi choked out that last word and the tears finally spilled over, only to be wiped up by a calloused hand, but she shook her head when he tried to speak again, his intention to make her teleport them back clear in his eyes. “No, Raditz… I want you to make me yours. Right now,” she insisted.

                “Look, Usagi,” Raditz began sternly, only to shiver when he felt something soft and fuzzy suddenly materialize between their joined hands. “Usagi… Usa, is that—“

                “ _Au v’enra m’yo_ ,” the goddess of the stars stated, her voice trembling slightly. “ _Nee m’eh t’uh au k’sha m’yo_.” She wasn’t the only one shaking by the time she’d finished that sentence, but when she felt something wet drip onto her forehead, Usagi softened and drew him down to her. “Shhh… Raditz, it’s ok. Please don’t cry.”

                “I can’t help it,” he croaked. “Sorry, I just… I waited _so fucking long_ to hear those words, my angel. Only a few days ago, I was wondering if I would _ever_ hear them, if maybe I just needed to end my misery once all of the brats were grown and could take care of themselves.”

                “I’m sorry,” Usagi managed. “Raditz, I’m so very, very sorry. Please forgive me.”

                “Angel, you don’t understand, there’s nothing to forgive,” Raditz insisted gently as he wiped at his eyes and gazed down at her in adoration. “You never did anything wrong. Not a single damned thing. So please stop apologizing, ok?”

                Her lips twitching up slightly, Usagi nodded briefly before flexing her hand against his, reminding him of the hair bundle they were both clasping. “Bite me, Raditz. I come to you freely, unbound to another, to fulfill the pact that we made… without my knowledge until Vegeta explained it to me,” she finished with a little snort of amusement.

                Dead serious, Raditz just studied her silently as he tried to get a handle on his beast, which was snapping at the leash. Under normal circumstances he would have likely already had both of them stripped to the skin, but the fact remained that his mate had very recently been injured and while nearly healed, she wasn’t _fully_ healed. “Usagi… are you sure?” He finally asked.

                “ _Tor’sha m’eh_ ,” she breathed in reply as she leaned up on her elbows—ignoring the slight pain in her shoulder from the action—and kissed him softly. “Raditz, _m’eh t’au. Buh’tir, m’eh t’uh au_.”

                Hearing that she was his and that she wanted him was his complete undoing, and Raditz released the leash on his primal instincts as his lips crashed into hers. She was his, finally _all his_!—and he groaned loudly with desire at the very thought as he set the bundle of hair to the side and used his newly freed hand to shove her skirt to her hips.

                She was already topless from the healing that had been done by her daughter, and the moment Raditz broke the kiss, he was trailing his lips to a pert breast and sucking at it eagerly as he savored her moans of pleasure and the way her hands were tugging at his hair. “I love you,” he choked out as he stopped for just a moment to look down at her and commit every little bit of her to memory. This was the night he’d been waiting on for over two hundred years, and his beast was actually backing down a bit as the gravity of it all hit them both.

                This couldn’t be some quick, eager roll in the hay. Oh no; if Raditz _ever_ held claim as the best lay in the universe, then taking Usagi as his mate needed to be his gods damned greatest lay of all time. His magnum opus. If sex was an art form, this needed to be his masterpiece.

                “I don’t know if I should be thrilled or terrified by that look,” Usa remarked, lifting a golden brow as she studied him in turn and wondered just what he was planning. Judging by the glint in his dark eyes, he was devising something that she probably wouldn’t soon forget. “Raddy?” She’d expected him to immediately take her, to embrace her passionately while his beast shredded the remainder of her clothing and he pounded home while burying his teeth in her shoulder… but nope. Apparently Raditz or his beast—or both of them—wanted something more meaningful. “It’s ok if you just want to…” She shrugged at that, not sure how to word it. “…you know. Raditz, I don’t need anything special. Honestly, I just want you inside of me right now,” she admitted with a bright blush. “Please, Raditz? I need you.”

                “Fucking hell, I sucked at planning shit anyway,” he chuckled, immediately grabbing the hem of her skirt to yank it down her body and toss it to the floor along with her panties. “Every time I thought about how I would finally take you for my mate, I acknowledged that I’d likely just wind up falling on top of you like some sort of stupid teenager while failing miserably to get you off in the process.” His clothing followed the same path that hers had just taken as they both grinned at the memory of how quickly he’d gotten off only a couple days beforehand, but the moment he was hovering over her again, Raditz grew serious. “You’re sure?” He breathed as he lowered himself onto her, trying not to get too caught up in how good she felt pressed against him and wrapping around him, her legs already moving to twine with his as her arms embraced him.

                “Bite me, Raddy,” Usagi sighed, her hips bucking slightly on their own the moment she felt him pressing to her entrance, her eyes fluttering shut when he bent his mouth to her old mark and stroked his tongue over it a single time. “I’m yours, just… just please…” It was getting harder to breathe with every sweep of his lips or tongue over the circular scar that Vegeta had first inflicted over two hundred years prior, and when Raditz nicked her creamy skin with one of his canines, Usagi was moaning loudly, her nails digging furrows into his back.

                That was Raditz’s undoing, and he could no longer tease and savor her; he had to have her _now_. “I swear to never let you regret it, _r’sha_ ,” he murmured against her shoulder, unable to contain his beast for another moment. It was even better than his dreams, the feeling of his teeth sinking into her soft flesh, the taste of her blood filling his mouth, heady and strong with power. And the sound of her moaning his name and clutching at him as she lifted her hips in invitation had him pressing at her entrance and slowly joining their bodies as he continued to suck at the mark and bury his teeth in her further. “ _R’sha m’yo_ ,” he barely choked out before her lips slammed into his and she begged him through the brand-new half-bond to take her and take her _now_.

                _Love you more than I can ever tell you,_ he whispered through the bond as he moved inside of her slowly, carefully, worshipping his new mate in the only way he’d allow his beast to. And he could finally feel the one thing he’d always longed for through the mating bond… her love for him, filling him up and making him whole for what felt like the first time ever. “Bite me,” he choked out, his voice so full of emotion that he could barely speak the words. “Be mine, Usa.”

                “I’m yours, Raditz,” she breathed against the tanned skin presented to her, pressing against her kiss-swollen lips. “Lower your ki,” she reminded him softly, her voice hitching as she fought not to come when he moved a little harder and growled softly in her ear. “I love you, _k’sha m’yo_ ,” she finally confessed, then bit down as hard as she could, whimpering helplessly as she tightened around him and came hard.

                “Gods, _yes_ ,” he groaned in rapture, his head rolling back as his beast overrode him and he moved harder, deeper, reveling in the feel of her pleasure through the bond as he began to close in on his own. “Come for me again, my angel,” he ordered softly before biting down on her mark just as she released his.

                Usagi gasped for air as another climax crashed through her, her nails raking down his spine in reaction as she completely surrendered to him. “ _Raditz…_ _please_ come with me,” she begged helplessly.

                “Close,” he grunted happily, only to sink his teeth into her shoulder again. That honeyed, powerful taste of the stars overhead was like a drug; it filled him with the purest, sweetest joy he’d ever experienced in his life and he never wanted to stop drinking it in.

                Usagi came again, locking her arms and legs around him fiercely as she yelled his name, and when he still didn’t come with her, she pulled rank and clamped down on his shoulder while he was still locked to hers, unable to bear the waves of pleasure threatening to make her black out. The sounds of their shouts of ecstasy were drowned out by the biting, but they both knew that anyone downstairs had heard them loud and clear, especially Raditz, who was slamming roughly into her as she milked him of his seed.

                And when he finally slumped down on top of her, Usagi tipped his face up to make sure he was still conscious. “Damn, Raditz… I don’t think I’ve ever made you come for that damned long,” she giggled. 

                “Or that hard,” he practically whimpered into a soft breast. “I blacked out for a moment,” he admitted in wonder. That wonder didn’t cease as he felt his cock twitch and harden inside of her again as he licked the remains of blood from his lips. “Dear gods…”

                “Again?” Usa sputtered. “Gods, you’re like the fucking Energizer Bunny.”

                “My body is ready,” he joked, giving her a little test thrust.

                “Your body is _always_ ready,” she chuckled dryly.

                “Ok, yeah… you’ve got me there, angel. You alright?” He asked gently, his fingers whispering over where she’d been wounded.

                “Yeah, other than a little discomfort in my shoulder, I’m fine, just… a little overwhelmed by your zeal,” she admitted. “Again _already_? Really?” She smiled when he lifted an incredulous eyebrow, clearly asking her with just that look if she really didn’t expect him to be so enthusiastic about claiming her. “Ok, fine, I suppose I should have seen this coming from a mile away,” she whispered, giving him a gentle kiss.

                When Usagi pulled away, she was genuinely touched to see the dopey, love-struck smile on his face, and while the tears in his eyes weren’t totally a surprise, she could feel through the bond how he was questioning his sanity for several moments. “Raddy…? Seriously, are you ok?”

                He managed a brief nod before nipping at her shoulder and letting out a joyous little noise. “Mine,” he said simply. “You’re really mine…”

                She understood then and pushed a wave of reassurance through the bond as she heard him wondering if it was some sort of dream, a little rush of fear going through his head at the idea that he might wake up alone, then once more questioning his sanity. “I’m really yours, Raditz… and it’s not a dream. I’m very, very real, and I’m yours and I love you.”

                “I know, _r’sha_ , I think it’ll just take me a few days to fully grasp the concept and not wonder if I’m hallucinating the whole thing,” he admitted as he ran his fingers through the golden silk of her hair and moved a little just to relish the way her body immediately flexed around him.

                “Raditz, we have more than just a few days,” she snorted as she moved her hips and began to love him from below in a slow, steady rhythm, her lips twitching up knowingly when his eyes fluttered shut in ecstasy. “But I can give you all the time you need to convince you that you’re not insane.”

                “Whatever you say, angel,” Raditz answered, his voice shaky as he tried his best to keep still and let her continue uninterrupted. “I’m definitely not arguing… especially not while I’m inside of you.”

                With a mischevious little grin, Usagi ignored the shot of pain in her shoulder as she rolled them, but when he frowned up at her and opened his mouth to bring up her injury, she covered his mouth with her hand. “I thought you weren’t going to argue? I’m fine, Raditz. So lie still.”

                It took all of his willpower not to roll her onto her back again and gently take over, but Raditz managed to fight down his beast’s urge to protect since he knew beyond a shadow of a doubt that a warrior of her caliber could handle what probably only amounted to a flesh wound for her when compared to others she’d received. “Fine. But after you ride me to your satisfaction, I get to tie you up, blindfold you…” He dropped his voice to a whisper then and smirked up at her when she blushed at the memory of what they’d been doing earlier. “…and then you’re going to tell me exactly what I did to you in your dirty little dreams.”

                Swallowing hard at the picture that leapt to the front of her mind, Usagi could only nod. Oh yeah, she definitely wanted that! The image in her head was not only downright sinful, but delicious as well! “Deal,” she managed hoarsely.


	9. Chapter 9

At first, Usagi was surprised to wake to an open mating bond and the sensation of love flowing through it, laced with unbridled lust. She wasn’t surprised to feel a tongue stroking over her clit or a pair of large, calloused hands gripping her thighs, it was just the bond that shocked her into momentary stiffness, which immediately stopped the slow, intense Saiyan kiss that was curling her toes.

                “It’s ok, _r’sha_ ,” Raditz breathed against her neatly trimmed curls. “It’s just me.”

                “Raditz,” she sighed as she laced her fingers in his thick hair and trembled at the continuous waves of unadulterated love and adoration rolling through the bond. “Oh gods… I… I…”

                The scent of her tears brought him back up to kiss her lips, and he wiped at them as he cupped her face in both hands, pushing comfort through the bond to mix in with the love. “Please don’t tell me you’re having second thoughts,” he breathed as he rested his forehead to hers. “I couldn’t bear it if you hadn’t truly wanted to be mine, angel.”

                “No, Raddy, it’s just the mating bond… I… I haven’t felt it in so long, and then to wake up to it… I missed it so much,” she choked out, unable to stop the tears that only continued to come. “I love you… I love you _so much_ …”

                “Shh… angel… my angel,” Raditz murmured lovingly into her hair as he continued to push waves of love and comfort through the bond, throwing it fully open and savoring the feeling of being mentally joined with another being, their very souls entwined. It had taken him half the night to get used to it, but Raditz knew instinctively that a pairbond with Usagi was something he would never, ever take for granted or fully grow accustomed to. It was just too extraordinary and surreal all at once. “Don’t cry, sweetheart, it’s alright.”

                “N—No, it’s not,” she sobbed into the crook of his neck. “Y—You won’t—“

                “Yes, I will,” he whispered as soon as he heard her train of thought in his head. “I go when you go.” She’d been thinking about his eventual death, about when she’d have to bury yet another lover, husband and mate, and how she would continue on by herself in another few hundred years, unable to even take her own life because she was truly immortal. “Usagi, I die when you die. You’ll never be alone again. Ever. I swear it on my tail and my honor. I’ll _never_ leave you.”

                Too stunned at first to do anything but stare up at him in confused shock, it took Usagi several moments to see the truth of his thoughts and the images flipping through his mind of Shenron, the dragon balls, and everyone who had gone to Earth with them yesterday. “You… you wished…”

                “Yes. But not immortality. I wished to be young and to live by your side until you finally pass on. Then, and _only_ then, will I die. I’m immortal, yes, but only if you are, _r’sha m’yo_. You’re not mad at me, are you?” He added fretfully when she only kept staring at him, her feelings such a jumble through the bond that Raditz couldn’t read them; he was still too new to being mated, and reading her accurately when she when she had so many conflicting emotions was near impossible so soon. “Please don’t be mad at me, _r’sha_ , I was just terrified of you ever being alone again. Damn it… I should have asked you first, I knew it.”

                He way he was caressing her face as he spoke brought her around slowly, and once Usagi could function past the knowledge that she’d never be alone again, she hugged him with the force of a truck, knocking him onto his back even though he’d been on top of her, sobbing tears of joy into his broad chest.

                Feeling her happiness overcoming everything else through the bond, Raditz purred for her and returned the embrace, sighing in contentment now that he knew she wasn’t angry with him for his wish on the dragon balls. “ _Tah’kha’or au_ ,” he sighed into her hair as he ran his fingers through it idly. “I’ll never leave you again, I swore it the very first day.”

                “I remember,” she sighed happily. Brimming with energy for the first time in years, Usagi beamed at him as she sat up and straddled him and nodded towards the door. “I feel like going home, Raddy. Do you want to come with me? I’d like to see my children.”

                And they probably wanted to see her too, Raditz acknowledged silently. It wasn’t a stretch to assume that they hadn’t seen their mother smile like that in over a decade and that it would do the lot of them some good to see her genuinely happy. Especially Tarble; that kid seemed to carry an aura of melancholy around with him wherever he went, and something told Raditz that it had a lot to do with the empathic powers he’d inherited from Usagi and the sadness that had loomed over his family ever since Vegeta’s death. “Sure, angel. Anything you want.”

                The goddess of the stars practically radiated delight at that and slipped off the bed to get dressed, but a glance back to her new mate only drew her eyes right to his groin and the thick arousal sticking straight up in the air. “Hm… maybe we should take care of that first?” She asked with a playful grin, coming right back to the bed to climb on top of him. “The sun’s barely up back home as it is.”

                “Mmm… more than enough time for a quickie, then,” he chuckled, promptly flipped her onto her back once more. “Though I’ll admit, I’m still awfully curious about that dream you had, Usa. Do we have enough time for that?”

                “No,” she giggled, “that one’s going to take us at least an hour. Tonight?”

                “Tonight,” he agreed. “And I’m holding you to it.”

################################################

                “Now this is the Usagi I remember,” Mako giggled as she remained perched in Piccolo’s lap, leaning into him comfortably as she watched the blonde playing the game that Raditz had taught her with all of her own and her reincarnated Senshis’ children. “Heh… our own little clan’s giving her a run for her money,” she mused when her oldest easily caught up with Usa and zapped her with his ki. “THAT’S IT!” She yelled enthusiastically. “GET HER, TANTU! KICK HER COSMIC ASS!”

                “Oooow,” Piccolo grumbled. “Too loud, Koto.”

                “Oh, she’s just happy, Uncle Piccolo!” Chibi-Usa giggled as she flew down to grab a drink, turning her head to flash a smile towards Bardock Junior, who was hot on her tail but skidding to a halt at the sight of her beaming at him sunnily, her cheeks flushed red. “Would you like a drink, too?” She offered, suddenly shy as her tail twitched behind her in a mixture of interest and nervousness. “I um… I can get you one.”

                “Uh… yeah, sure. I’d like anything you gave me if you—oh gods, I didn’t mean it that way,” he said quickly, blushing brightly when she just stared at him for a long moment.

                “No, you didn’t, now quit with the awkward stammering you inherited from your father and go get a drink with the girl, **_BJ_** ,” Raditz snorted before launching himself into the air to join his mate, snickering when his nephew sputtered and growled at the nickname he hated being called more than anything.

                “To think, he was trying to get all aggressively Saiyan and hormonal with me a few days ago,” Usagi chuckled when Raditz flew up and caught her, cradling her to his chest and nuzzling and nipping at her mark.

                “Yeah, but that was hormones and nothing else, angel. This time, he’s got a crush. And I plan on busting his balls as often as possible about it, as we all should,” Raditz purred. “Just remember to call him BJ every five seconds, especially when Rabbit’s in earshot.”

                “Will do,” she agreed as he floated them down into a chair, bunching her fingers in his hair when he kissed her. “How’s Goten?”

                “He’s gone off for a while with Gohan and a few of Piccolo’s boys; he didn’t want to see Rei and risk a breakdown in front of her. The kid’s terrified of scaring her on accident since he can’t really predict how he might behave in front of her. Goten doesn’t want to wind up bawling his eyes out and hugging her for an hour.”

                “I don’t think he’ll make it twenty years,” Usagi admitted worriedly. “You?”

                “I don’t know, sweetheart. But at least he has hope. That’s what got me through the last two hundred years, and I have faith that he can make it a couple of decades, _r’sha_. Give him the benefit of the doubt since he’s got some of my genes in him,” Raditz told her gently.              

                “Yeah, he does… no wonder he’s such an amazing man,” she admitted softly. “Just like his uncle.”

                “Mmm… yes I am,” Raditz purred, nipping at her mark for the millionth time that day, still reeling at the fact that she was finally all his. “In fact… no one’s paying attention except for the Namek, but that asshole hears everything. Want to slip away for an hour? Maybe break out that blindfold?”

                “No blindfold until tonight, mister. It’s the shower for the both of us right now.”

                “Heh, alrighty then, I can live with that,” he replied happily, keeping her cradled against him as he stood and walked off towards Capsule Corp. “Hey Usagi? I love you.”

                Usa knew he’d never, ever get tired of saying it, and honestly, she’d never get tired of hearing it. “I love you too, Raditz.”


End file.
